Golden Isles Aviation, the lone FBO at Georgia’s McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport (KSSI) debuted its new terminal earlier this year. But visitors have found that isn’t the only new thing at the airport. There is also a new 88-room Hilton Home2 hotel, built on the FBO’s leasehold. The entire complex was designed and built at the same time, according to Golden Isles president Larry Wade, who came up with the plan with his friend, pilot and hotelier Gaines Sturdivant, CEO of the MMI Hospitality Group, which owns and operates hotels throughout the South. Golden Isles covered the FBO construction and MMI paid for the hotel.
The old FBO terminal, which occupied most of the airport’s former commercial terminal, was leveled along with its parking lots to make room for the new multimillion-dollar facility, which shares a porte cochere with the hotel. Indeed, while the two businesses have different ownership, the concept embraces the hotel as an integral part of the complex. “The pilot loves it when he can come down in the elevator, and when the door opens at the bottom, he’s at the airport,” noted Wade. “He doesn’t have to worry about a taxi or renting a car.” The aviation themed hotel’s suites even offer a television channel that allows them to monitor two cameras on the ramp.
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