IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) announced that the company’s first sustainable hotel in Canada and the first of its type in Quebec will officially open today in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. The Holiday Inn Express and Suites Saint-Hyacinthe has been built to meet the criteria of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System for its sustainable practices.

The Holiday Inn Express and Suites Saint-Hyacinthe features several key amenities that create a green environment, with a high efficiency energy distribution, ultra-insulated building, and LED and low voltage fluorescent lighting.  The property has employed several key factors to reduce its carbon footprint including:
- Furniture all locally made within 20 kilometres of the hotel
- Cement used from a demolished bridge as gravel under and around the hotel
- White roof to reflect sun’s heat
- Special heat capturing water coils
- Custom made natural fiber mattresses (with bamboo and soya bases)

Located 30 minutes away from Montreal, the 94-room hotel is a part of the new ‘M’ Lifestyle Centre in Saint-Hyacinthe. The Lifestyle Centre is designed to be the shopping destination for the entire surrounding region and will include restaurants, shopping, a public market, houses and apartments.  The hotel is easily accessible to visitors from any direction using Highway 20 and a short drive to tourist attractions such as the Congress Centre and various festivals.

The new-build property also showcases the Holiday Inn Express brand’s new sign, which is the seal of approval that this hotel exemplifies the standards of the $1 billion Holiday Inn brand relaunch program. First announced in 2007, the relaunch program was established to create a more contemporary brand image as part of the drive to increase quality and consistency across the global portfolio.  The program focuses on arrival and welcome services, guestroom, and guest bath comfort.  The global estate of more than 3,300 Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express properties is expected to be relaunched by the end of 2010.

“We are very excited to be opening the first LEED hotel in Quebec and the first of its kind in Canada for Holiday Inn Express,” said Pierre Gilles Gauvin, general manager of Holiday Inn Express and Suites Saint-Hyacinthe. “We have invested $10 million with the goal of providing visitors of the area with a hotel that is sustainable and eco-friendly while maintaining a relaxed atmosphere with all the latest in comfort, and we are happy with the end result.”