IHG announces the opening of the new Holiday Inn Express San Diego Sea World – Beach Area, which recently underwent a conversion from a Comfort Inn. The extensive $1.5 million renovation includes an expanded breakfast area, enhancements to the lobby and fitness center and upgrades to the hotel’s 113 guest rooms.

“Holiday Inn Express hotels are designed to be the smart choice for value-conscious business and leisure travelers,” said Gina LaBarre, vice president, Brand Management, The Americas, IHG.  “With more than 2,000 properties worldwide and hundreds more in the pipeline, the Holiday Inn Express portfolio continues to provide our guests with an enhanced-stay experience at a great value.  We welcome this hotel into the Holiday Inn family.”

The new hotel exemplifies the $1 billion Holiday Inn relaunch, the largest ever project of its kind in the history of the hospitality industry. First announced in 2007, the relaunch program creates a more contemporary brand image as part of the drive to increase quality and consistency across the global portfolio. The program focuses on arrival and welcome services, guestroom and guest bath comfort and a redesigned logo and signage.

“We’re excited about joining the Holiday Inn brand family and being able to provide visitors to the San Diego beach area with outstanding service and a great value,” said General Manager Pete Wurzer.

Located at 4540 Mission Bay Drive, with convenient access to Interstate 5 and Interstate 8, the Holiday Inn Express San Diego Sea World – Beach Area is just seven miles from San Diego International Airport and three miles from Sea World. The hotel is also nearby San Diego’s Old Town, the San Diego Zoo and just a few miles from several businesses, including Raytheon and General Atomics.

Set in the suburban Mission Bay area, the new Holiday Inn Express offers guests a comfortable, yet affordable, business or leisure stay with innovative preferred-guest upgrades to ensure a pleasurable experience. The hotel’s complimentary Express Start® breakfast bar features a full range of breakfast items including a rotation of egg and meat selections, biscuits, yoghurt, fruit, pancakes and the brand’s proprietary cinnamon roll and Smart Roast® coffee.

The SimplySmart™ shower incorporates a proprietary StaySmart™ Kohler shower-head, signature shower curtain with curved rod, upgraded 100 percent cotton terry towels and a custom line of cinnamon-scented bath products.  Guests will enjoy the SimplySmart™ bedding collection, where they will find crisp fresh bedding that features an attractive, decorative throw, a medium-weight duvet blanket and soft 200 thread-count sheets.

Guest rooms have been completely refreshed and offer new furniture including comfortable queen or king-sized beds, a sitting area with a lounge chair and an in-room coffee machine featuring complimentary Smart Roast® 100% Arabica coffee.  Business travelers will find large desks with ergonomic chairs, free local and toll free phones with private voicemail and complimentary USA TODAY® newspapers.

Guests can also access free high-speed wireless Internet connections in their rooms and the lobby as well as in the hotel’s 24-hour business center. There is also a fitness center and outdoor pool.

The Holiday Inn Express San Diego Sea World - Beach Area is owned by Pinnacle Buena Park and managed by Excel Hotel Group, under a license agreement with a company in the InterContinental Hotels Group.

City.Mobi

Also in US today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to San Diego.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

SanDiego.mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.