A New Destination to Alabama's Coast
Embassy Suites | Gulf Shores, Alabama
The Embassy Suites Gulf Shores Beach Resort opened its doors in July 2025, bringing a new addition to the hospitality scene in the Gulf Coast. The eight-story, all-suite hotel is located just steps from the shoreline and serves as a hub for visitors and locals-featuring resort-style amenities, retail space, and event venues with sweeping views of the Gulf.
The project also includes a three-level parking deck and rooftop entertainment space, transforming a high-traffic beach corridor into a full-service destination.
Behind the Beachfront Build
Designed to meet the demands of a coastal environment, the project's structural systems were carefully planned to support the hotel's height, footprint, and amenity spaces.
+ Both the hotel and parking deck were constructed on augercast piles and pile caps, providing deep foundation support.
+ The second level of the hotel - situated above ground-floor retail and lobby areas - was framed with a cast-in-place concrete beam and slab system, supporting an expansive outdoor pool deck, open-air bar and lounge, and outdoor stage area designed to anchor the resort's vibrant amenity experience.
+ The main hotel floors and roof utilized a two-way post-tensioned concrete slab, offering strength, efficiency, and flexibility in layout.
+ The parking deck was engineered with post-tensioned concrete girders, beams, and slabs across all levels.
+ Atop the garage, a steel-framed ballroom and amenity space created a vibrant gathering area with coastal views.
The Embassy Suites project in Gulf Shores, Alabama was both challenging and rewarding. With a tight schedule and budget, design and coordination decisions required careful analysis and execution. Located just 100 yards from the Gulf Coast, the structure had to withstand significant wind and flood loads, while also accommodating architectural features like an elevated outdoor pool deck and amenity spaces. It was a true test of coordination and technical execution to deliver an efficient, functional, and visually appealing structure. -- Zack Coker, P.E., Project Manager
Built for Community
With generous meeting space, retail storefronts, indoor-outdoor dining, and beachfront access, the resort is designed to support year-round tourism and community events. The project not only contributes to the city's long-term development goals, but also provides a resilient, thoughtfully engineered space for leisure, business, and celebration.
