The first Value Place extended stay hotel in the Triangle has opened in Apex.

The 121-room hotel is located at the intersection of I-55 and U.S. 1 at 901 Lufkin Road.  

Value Place is among the fastest growing hotel chains in the country, offering guests no frills suites with weekly rates starting at $179.99.  

The Apex hotel is the eighth Value Place in the state. The company hopes to open at least six hotels in the Triangle within 10 years.

At Value Place, most of the amenities that guests take for granted at traditional hotels, such as a coffee maker, high-speed Internet and regular cleaning service, cost extra.

The approach has proven attractive at a time when corporations are slashing travel budgets and more people find themselves in housing limbo because they have relocated but can't sell the home they left behind or simply because they are out of work.

A new Hilton extended stay hotel is planned for a site in Morrisville near the intersection of Interstate 540 and N.C. 54.

The Home2 Suites will be four stories and include 104 suites.

Hilton launched the Home2 Suites brand in early 2009 and it has become the company's fastest growing brand. In late January the company broke ground on the first Home2 Suites in Fayetteville. As of the end of the first quarter of 2010, 60 more have been approved with 30 more in the pipeline.

Home2 Suites estimates that it will open 100 properties by year-end 2013, with 60 to 70 per year thereafter.

Home2 Suites properties include studios and one-bedroom suites that range from 323 to 509 square feet. 

Another extended-stay brand, Value Place, is building a new hotel in Apex that was supposed to be completed this month. It will be the company's first in the Triangle.

Value Place hopes to open at least six hotels in the Triangle within 10 years.