Holman Grand to open in August

Charlottetown's newest hotel, the first new hotel to be built in the capital in 25 years, is set to open within a few weeks.

The Holman Grand has 80 rooms, including penthouse suites on the 10th floor with spectacular views of the waterfront.

Hotel general manager John Cudmore told CBC News Tuesday he expects the city's new convention centre will generate business, and he has developed a plan for surviving the slow winter months.

"We can get lean and mean when we have to, and that's the answer to surviving in the hospitality business in Prince Edward Island," said Cudmore.

"You have to know how to get the facility ramped up to provide the services that are expected, but then you also have to know how to cut things back and still maintain your level of customer service in order to get through those lean months."

The hotel design includes many environmentally-friendly features, such as three rooftop gardens that help prevent rain runoff. It also has geothermal heating, which it will use in conjunction with heat coming from the district heating plant on Riverside Drive.