COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.- April 20, 2005 -- More than 150 customers, business leaders and others who work in the local hospitality industry attended The Academy Hotel grand re-opening on Thursday, April 14 at 5:30 p.m. Formerly the Radisson North at I-25 and North Academy Blvd (Exit 150), the 156,000-square-foot hotel built in 1972 has dropped its long-term affiliation with the Radisson Corporation. Today, Frank and Marvel Thomson, who have operated the hotel for the last 20 years, officially changed the full-service

The Academy Hotel (formerly Radisson Inn) 8110 North Academy Blvd. Colorado Springs, Colorado

Thomson plans to divert franchise fees into hotel improvements over the next several years, including upgrades to its guest rooms and commons areas. He says return business through national accounts, local alliances and established groups have built over the years and helped the hotel to thrive. "But the nature of the business has changed," says Thomson, "like the global distribution system through airlines and agents, coupled with the ease of booking through Internet sources." Thomson has worked in the hospitality industry for more than a half-century starting his career in Denver in the 1950s.

With about 90 employees, the hotel has 200 guest rooms including four Jacuzzi suites and five mini-suites. Surrounding a lush, tropical atrium, there are nine banquet and meeting rooms, an indoor heated pool, fitness center with dry sauna and a full-service restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner along with an award-winning Champagne brunch every Sunday. The hotel offers shuttle service to the Colorado Springs airport and an on-site rental car agency. The Academy Hotel is the area's only full-service, family-operated hotel, run by Thomson, his wife Marvel and their daughter Beverly Sanchez.