Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau?jasay@standard.net?

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AYTON — The second Home2 Suites by Hilton on the planet celebrated its grand opening Tuesday, and general manager Gabe Garn says this one is the best.?

“We let them make all the mistakes (with the first one) and we perfected everything for this hotel,” Garn joked during the ribbon-cutting festivities.?Executives from Home2 Suites and hotel owners Western States Lodging joined several city and Davis County officials to celebrate the opening of Layton’s first new hotel in seven years. The hotel, at 803 W. Heritage Park Boulevard, opened for business March 10. ?One of the most exciting things to celebrate, say those associated with the new hotel, was that the hotel was completed and open within eight months of beginning construction.?”It’s truly like a dream come true to get it done in eight months,” said Dawn Koenig, vice president for brand performance support at Home2 Suites by Hilton.?Koenig said four more Home2 Suites will be opening this year, including one in West Valley. The

mid-tier, extended-stay hotel brand opened its first location in Fayetteville, N.C.?Layton officials are excited about the new addition.

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“To have this kind of hotel addition in our community is huge, inasmuch as those who do extended stays now have an ideal place to do so,” said Layton Mayor Steve Curtis.?With Hill Air Force Base and the Davis Conference Center nearby, the new hotel offers a different type of room for business travelers.?”It provides them with a home feel while they are away from home,” Garn said.?The hotel will provide more than just a place for people to stay while visiting Layton and Davis County.?Dave Webster, a partner in Western States Lodging, announced that, as part of the Your2 Hands community initiative, the hotel will partner with the Utah Foster Care Foundation. ?The organization helps find families to care for children who have been neglected, abused or cannot be care for by their parents.?Being involved with charity work is an important part of being in business, Webster said.?”If you’re just in business to be in business, then it takes all the joy out,” Webster said.?The hotel will not be the newest one in the city for long.?Dixon Pitcher, who is the co-owner of the Best Western in Uintah, said he is building a new hotel just south of the new Home2 Suites. ?The hotel’s brand is still not official.?Curtis is also excited about the Buffalo Walk trail, which will connect Layton’s hospitality district. ?The trail will go past the new Home2 Suites and will soon have mariner’s compasses displaying the directions to certain popular Layton destinations.?Home2 Suites already has a mariner’s compass on the sidewalk outside its business, which Curtis said is an exciting addition to the hotel.?”It will help whet the appetite of the other merchants.”