Among other details, Drury Hotels are known for their three-hour complimentary daily hot breakfasts and 90-minute afternoon Kickback buffets.
Missouri-based Drury Hotels Co. LLC now is exploring development of a Drury Inn & Suites near St. Johns Town Center.
JEA is reviewing a service availability request for an eight-story, 187-room, 109,082-square-foot Drury on 3.1 acres at northeast St. Johns Bluff Road and UNF Drive, which is Town Center Parkway.
The site is west of Interstate 295 and is opposite the Baptist & Wolfson Town Center Emergency Room center. It is west of the University of North Florida.
“We are looking in Jacksonville, nothing is definitive yet,” said Herb Wedemeier, senior vice president, secretary and general counsel for Drury Southwest Inc. in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
“We do like that Town Center site,” he said Aug. 24.
Drury Southwest is a development arm of St. Louis-based Drury Hotels Co., a family-owned company.
Drury Hotels brands include Drury Inn & Suites, Drury Inn, Drury Plaza Hotel, Pear Tree Inn by Drury and other hotels in the mid-priced hotel segment
Wedemeier said Drury is working with Sleiman Enterprises Principal Toney Sleiman.
Sleiman said he is working with Drury on the site search.
Wedemeier said if a site is chosen it could be a couple of years before a hotel opens. The land closing, permitting and construction take time.
He said Jacksonville is “a great town” for Drury.
“Everything we’ve seen is positive,” he said.
Wedemeier said Drury serves the business and leisure market, and that “Jacksonville has that great mix” of both.
The location also is attractive, he said.
It has strong visibility along I-295 and is near medical centers, such as Mayo Clinic in Florida; tourism such as the Beaches and St. Augustine; business parks; the retail development at St. Johns Town Center; and universities, especially the direct road into the UNF campus.
“That combination is our customer,” he said.
“We do pride ourselves in finding good sites,” he said.
Wedemeier said the company buys and owns its sites and builds the hotels.
“Because we are family-owned and operated, we control the hotel site,” he said.
The hotel company has its own in-house architects and controls the brand “and the quality of the brand.”
He declined to estimate the investment cost, but said it’s significant.
“We are a growing brand and we are trying to expand,” he said.
As for Jacksonville, “We think it would be a great market for Drury Hotels.”
A site plan shows that Drury Southwest Inc. of Cape Girardeau is the developer.
Development Management Group of Nashville is the applicant.
Brands, size, growth and Florida presence
As of Feb. 21, 2023, Drury Hotels Co. had more than 150 hotels in 26 states.
Brands include Drury Inn & Suites, Drury Inn, Drury Plaza Hotel and Pear Tree Inn by Drury.
It operates in the mid-priced hotel segment.
There are five Drury properties in Florida – three Drury Inn & Suites in Fort Myers, Orlando and Gainesville and two Drury Plaza Hotels in Orlando and Tallahassee.
The Tallahassee hotel is under construction for completion in March 2024.
The Orlando hotels are near Universal and Disney properties. The Fort Myers inn is near the airport.
Wedemeier said Drury recently opened 604 rooms at Disney Springs, buying the lease from Best Western. “That is going to be a great hotel for us,” he said.
The hotel’s grand opening was in early 2023.
Its site says that it is an Official Walt Disney World Hotel, the Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando - Disney Springs is a half-mile from Disney Springs and offers free shuttle service to all four Walt Disney World theme parks.
The property replaces the Best Western Lake Buena Vista Resort, with a full renovation of the former hotel plus a new tower, bringing the total guest room count to 604.
Wedemeier said Drury also is opening a 185-room hotel in Savannah, Georgia. Located off I-95, the Drury Plaza Hotel Savannah Pooler is accepting reservations for May 15, 2024, and beyond. As of April 11, 2023, Drury Hotels said that in the past five years it has opened 16 hotels including downtown Nashville, Tennessee; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Richmond, Virginia; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Dallas.
It said three hotels were under construction in Tallahassee, Savannah and Arlington, Texas, and the hotel voicemail indicates more.
The standard rate for a room at the Drury Inn & Suites Gainesville for one night Sept. 1 ranges from $135.49 for a one king bed deluxe to $204.99 for an upper-floor two-room suite with one king bed.
Rates vary based on advance purchase and membership status.
The amenities
The Drury hot breakfast buffets are 6-9:30 a.m. Monday-Friday and 7-10 a.m. Saturday-Sunday.
Kickbacks are 5:30-7 p.m. daily, with three complimentary drinks, including beer, wine and mixed drinks.
The hotels offer a pool, fitness center and business center. There also is meeting space.
“We probably have the best amenity package,” Wedemeier said, including the “best WiFi in the business.”
The Kickback evening buffets vary daily with offerings that include salads, soups, pasta, potatoes, sliders, meatballs, grilled chicken slices and vegetables.
Hot dogs, chips, salsa and nacho cheese are on the menu daily.
Drury Hotels said that it recently introduced The Kitchen + Bar for late-night dining options at 16 Drury Hotels, with plans to add eight more by the end of 2024.
The history
President and CEO Chuck Drury says on the druryhotels.com site that his father and brothers built the first Drury Inn in 1973 “on a simple promise—to provide clean rooms, friendly service, and a good night’s sleep at a good and honest price.”
The site says that what started as a small family business 50 years ago remains 100% family-owned and operated.
It opened the first Drury Inn in Sikeston, Missouri, near Cape Girardeau in Southeast Missouri, and has grown to 150 hotels in 26 states.
“But our dedication to treating guests like family has never wavered.”
Drury Hotels says it has been recognized by the J.D. Power 2022 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, earning the award for “Highest in Guest Satisfaction Among Upper Midscale Hotel Chains.”
It says that in 2022, Drury received the award for a record 17th consecutive year.
"It’s really interesting to be part of the Drury Hotel family,” Wedemeier said.
“We build our own hotels, have our own management company, our own brand and the best team in the country.”