The hotel is an adjunct project to the Woodlands Convention Center and will be positioned between Six Pines and Lake Robbins drives in the Town Center. Michael Richmond, president and CEO of The Woodlands tells GlobeSt.com that Marriott was chosen because of its expertise in servicing business and convention travelers. Talks regarding the management contract have been in the works for over a year. Marriott's reservation system was also mentioned as a reason for choosing the company.

Richmond declined to tell GlobeSt.com either the price of the project or the length of the contract. The hotel will open in fall 2002.

In addition to the 345 rooms, the hotel will feature a restaurant, pool, fitness center, concierge floor and business center and 20,000 sf of retail space. Gensler Houston is designing the project and D.E. Harvey Builders is the general contractor. Ground has broken on the adjoining 196,000-sf, $52-million convention center, which will deliver in early 2003.