The Hotel at Avalon is now open in north Fulton County

When you come off Ga. 400 and turn onto John Smoltz Highway, there’s something big and new in the Alpharetta sky.

First talked about some five and a half years ago, the Hotel at Avalon and Alpharetta Conference Center is no longer an idea. The 330-room hotel and accompanying spaces are finished and open for business, employing more than 160 people.

“This is unlike anything else that exists in north Fulton County,” said Mark Toro, a top executive for North American Properties, which developed Avalon, the mixed-use space in Alpharetta.

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Tuesday marked the grand opening of the hotel and conference center and was well attended by hundreds of people, including Alpharetta mayor David Belle Isle, who helped cut the ribbon on the hotel’s front door. Toro called the hotel and conference center the “brainchild” of Belle Isle, and added that Avalon wouldn’t exist without him.

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The hotel has already booked stays and events through 2021, including more than 175 events and 10 weddings. The Hotel at Avalon has more than 17,500 rooms booked through 2019.

Since it’s inception, the entire Avalon development has created an estimated 4,500 new jobs for Alpharetta.

Featuring a Starbucks, South City Kitchen, a pool, exercise facilities, conference rooms and a bar, the hotel is affiliated with Marriott as an "Autograph Collection" boutique hotel, but is operated independently by Avalon.

Rates for rooms at the Hotel at Avalon range from $300 to $1,800 per night.

Take a look at photos from the hotel: