Drury Hotel

[d-usa]

When I was in high school we always stayed in Drury hotels when traveling for school. I felt like the hotels were always dated, so as an adult I've always steered clear. This has really made me re-think I should re-evaluate my negative opinion of their hotels.

I don’t know if I would call them dated, but I also wouldn’t call them modern. They definitely feel “mid-upper Midwest family chain” to me as far as style and decor goes. They win me over with value and service though.

With that said, we stayed at their hotel on the Riverwalk in San Antonio before, which was a converted bank tower (think 1st National Center), and they did a great job with the way everything looked and incorporated the old bank features very well.

[hoya]

I can't help but believe we're reaching a saturation point (or more!) from having too many hotels downtown. I realize before buying/building on the downtown site that investors employ all due diligence. But yet it seems unlikely we have enough guests to OKC downtown areas do have so many hotels be profitable. Best wishes for them.....

No idea. I’ve heard that we have way more hotel guests than you’d think, and with the new convention center we are going to have a lot more.

But even if we hit the saturation point, that opens up the possibility of some of the older hotels converting to housing. I think it’s win/win for the city.

[Urbanized]

^

He just misunderstood.

The article clearly states the proper info and multiple people corrected him.

I posted my response before I had scrolled through the replies; my mistake. My general point about leaping to the worst possible conclusions about officials and people in the business community still stands. It isn't healthy for dialogue here and I have appreciated the times when you have reminded the posting community here of such in the past.

[gopokes88]

How could we possibly still not have enough parking? Is it just in the wrong places? This is mostly rhetorical but damn seems like all the parking got built west of the CBD and to the east is where all the fun is minus 21C and Jones.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^^
I would assume the Drury (and possibly Renaissance, if still on track) would be able to valet and provide other parking in the new Karchmer Main Street garage, and I would guess that this transaction was specifically made possible by that transaction moving forward. One of many moving parts connected to that, to the Santa Fe sale, to the Cotter Ranch Tower sale, etc.

[PaddyShack]

I would figure that with the rise of ride share and the streetcar the need for adjacent parking in the CBD and Bricktown decreases. Most of the people we have that visit our office only use Uber/Lyft when they travel. I have heard most people say that it is quicker and easier to use than renting a car. I would assume that it would be okay for the hotel to valet cars a few blocks away and their guest would be fine since they can use rideshare and the streetcar to move between the entertainment options.

[PaddyShack]

Also, the last time my wife and I staid in CBD for a few nights, staying in the Colcord. They had a driver who would drive you as far as the Paseo and then come and pick you up when you were ready. We never had to ask for our vehicle until we checked out.

[Urbanized]

Yes, I read an article recently that said hotel parking demand nationwide has been reduced 30% by ride sharing services. Also, worth mentioning that of course many who stay in downtown and Bricktown hotels see the walkability as a huge assets. I routinely speak with visitors who are blown away by how walkable it is and remark that they haven't been in their cars at all. This while downtown as we all know is presently as impassable as it has ever been due to construction. So when the streetca is finished and other road construction diminished I think we will see a large percentage of visitors who never even bother to rent a car.

[d-usa]

Imagine having a transit line from the airport to Bricktown...

[catch22]

Imagine having a transit line from the airport to Bricktown...

I still think the city should consider a direct bus line from downtown to the airport. Maybe make 1 stop at 15th and Meridian for those hotels. Doesn’t have to be a big city bus, but a small shuttle bus. I bet if it ran hourly from 5am-11pm it would generate good ridership. With hourly service and the average one-way time of 20 minutes, you wouldn’t need to buy a large fleet. 1 would cover the schedule. Your main costs would be operational (paying a driver and fuel).

Anytime I bring this up to the city they say “well we used to have bus to the airport but it averaged 2 riders a day”. They don’t get it, it also meandered through the city and took 45 minutes to get to the airport and had 2 dozen stops on the way. It also only ran 3 times a day and missed any peak travel times.

[OKCRT]

I still think the city should consider a direct bus line from downtown to the airport. Maybe make 1 stop at 15th and Meridian for those hotels. Doesn’t have to be a big city bus, but a small shuttle bus. I bet if it ran hourly from 5am-11pm it would generate good ridership. With hourly service and the average one-way time of 20 minutes, you wouldn’t need to buy a large fleet. 1 would cover the schedule. Your main costs would be operational (paying a driver and fuel).

Anytime I bring this up to the city they say “well we used to have bus to the airport but it averaged 2 riders a day”. They don’t get it, it also meandered through the city and took 45 minutes to get to the airport and had 2 dozen stops on the way. It also only ran 3 times a day and missed any peak travel times.

Bus lines are old news it needs to be rail with a few stops. Running from downtown to airport nonstop.

[shawnw]

I'm okay with either, but the rail line is less likely to be taken away and more likely to be used.

[bombermwc]

I've never felt that a Drury Inn was ever "modern" by any means. They definitely go with the old school sort of early 90's new home vibe. But they have still always been nice. They were VERY similar to a Hampton of that time.

But i can say that it was always the most comfortable mattress of any hotel i've ever stayed at in my life. I wanted to take that thing home with me! That one was in St Louis.

I don't care if the place has modern carpet and crap either. If it's nice/clean/etc, then that's good for me. I've always been disappointed that there aren't more of them in areas i travel to. Since they are midwestern, i don't normally go somewhere that one is around. I remember the service being good too. OK, and this is weird, but i really like their bath soap. It was more like Dove than the crappy normal hotel stuff.

[mugofbeer]

I just want wherever I stay to be clean and free of bedbugs.

[MagzOK]

We stay at the Drury Plaza Hotel in Santa Fe, NM often. They bought an old historical hospital on the edge of the Plaza and renovated it into a beautiful hotel.

[shawnw]

Have stayed there twice. Had wondered if it was a new build or a restoration.

[Pete]

This was posted elsewhere...

Drury now has this property for sale.

Asking $4.5 million which is what they paid for it in 2018.

[G.Walker]

Bump:

Hotel project revived, triggering potential savior for blighted Bricktown Canal property

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news...ty/9154632002/

"Zach Martin, whose company ADEPT was brokering the property at the corner of Sheridan and Oklahoma Avenues, said the listing was pulled after being told they once again planned to build a hotel on the site. "

[Pete]

^

They probably saw the proposal by Dream and realized they had a much better location.

[G.Walker]

Hopefully we get a decent development, the new branding of Drury Hotels are pretty nice.

[Pete]

Drury does a nice job and that large surface lot is a huge hole right in the middle of Bricktown.

If they were to build, Sheridan would have a nice streetwall.

[G.Walker]

I think the success of Omni has a lot of hotel developers moving forward to build hotels in the immediate area. Not that we need more hotels, would rather see housing. But better than surface parking lots I guess.

[Sooner.Arch]

Maybe then the city will fix the road on Sheridan. I'd love to see those pink bushes replaced with actual trees too.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^
Tree replacement on Sheridan is being actively worked on by some Bricktown stakeholders.

[Southsider2]

Something like Drury Milwaukee would be a nice addition to Bricktown. Nothing flashy but just real solid infill. I imagine that the Dream Hotel site will feature higher-end exterior finishes.