Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites broke ground in Shenandoah on Dec. 12 at 19333 David Memorial Drive. The 153-room hotel is due to open in January 2016.

The new Holiday Inn will offer 7,000 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center, a business center and lounge. The hotel will feature the state's first Johnny's Italian Steakhouse, a restaurant that specializes in Italian cuisine, steaks, seafood and offers a full breakfast menu.

Shenandoah Mayor Garry Watts said the city is an attractive destination for hotel development because of its access to I-45.

"We are the second fastest growing county in the state of Texas," he said. "With some of the other cities, you have to fight traffic."

In a little over a year, Shenandoah's Holiday Inn will provide hotel guests proximity to major area employers and companies such as Chevron Phillips, Anadarko, Baker Hughes as well as shopping, dining and entertainment. The new hotel will provide free shuttle services to local attractions near The Woodlands.

"ExxonMobil is coming four miles down the road and bringing 10,000 people and other business are coming," Watts said. "There's a tremendous need for hotel rooms."