A Courtyard by Marriott hotel projected to open next October near Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa will give a nod to gadget-laden business travelers with convenient spaces for mobile devices, “media pods” in the lobby and free wireless Internet throughout.

City officials and business leaders turned the first shovels of dirt in a ceremonial groundbreaking on Thursday at the hotel site near the southeastern corner of Power and Ray roads.

The 99-room hotel will be about one mile from the airport terminal and is expected to serve business travelers affiliated with some of the major employers that have landed in Mesa’s Gateway corridor, including Apple-contractor GT Advanced Technologies, Able Engineering and Bridgestone.

The Courtyard hotel will feature conference and business centers, a full-service restaurant and an outdoor swimming pool.

Developer Paul Welker of Mesa-based Sunridge Hotel Group said he recently completed a hotel with the same design at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah and is building another in Westminster, Colo., a suburb of Denver.

Sunridge also recently opened a Marriott Residence Inn near Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert. They own about 40 hotels across the Western U.S.

Mesa officials see the new hotel as another milestone in the rapid growth that has transformed southeast Mesa into a regional economic engine.

source:http://www.azcentral.com