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Village of Wellington welcomes second hotel to the community

Posted at 7:53 PM, Dec 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-14 04:53:37-05

The Fairfield Inn and Suites is set to open on Dec. 14 off Forest Hill Boulevard in Wellington. Village leaders are optimistic the second hotel to be built in the area means it’s one step closer to solving the current bed shortage.

Within the last 5 to 10 years more people are visiting, with the majority here for equestrian events. While a lot of people rent homes nearby, there’s been a group of people that have had to look outside of Wellington for a place to stay.

“Whether it was West Palm, or maybe some folks stayed up as far north as Palm Beach Gardens or Jupiter or in some cases Palm Beach or Boca,” said assistant village manager Jim Barnes.

The additional people is not only obvious at event centers, but for businesses like Palm Beach Farrier Supply.

“Not only do we have racehorses coming in, we have polo teams coming in, hunter and jumpers coming in, dressage horses,” said Joy Ream.

Ream has owned Palm Beach Farrier Supply since 2003. She gets customers coming in from all around the world with the majority of her business between November and April. She says in recent years she’s seen a gradual increase in demand not only at her shop but throughout the community.

“Also in the off season we’ve have some other sports tourism related uses that have increased in the last five to 10 years,” said Barnes.

For residents who are worried that Wellington could lose the hometown feel it’s known for, Barnes said one hotel can’t make or break that.

“It’s the sum of the whole which includes the community, the venues, the actual local government and neighborhoods. I think we will remain a great hometown whether we add a hotel or not,” said Barnes.