STEP BY STEP. Last November, the 1,572-room Hilton
Anaheim (Calif.) finished phase one of a $60 million renovation
with the reopening of its California and Pacific ballrooms. Each
offers 28,500 square feet of event space, with new wall coverings,
carpeting, lighting and A/V. A guest room revamp is up next,
followed by a lobby redesign, an expanded fitness center and new
restaurants. (714) 750-4321; www.hilton.com AZ, Tucson
Hotel: Westward Look
Resort. Renovations to be completed: April.
Price tag: $10 million. Rooms:
244. Meeting space: 20,000 square feet.
Key changes: upgrades to guest rooms, the lobby
area, and the Catalina and Sonoran ballrooms; the addition of
42-inch plasma TVs in all rooms.
FL, Tampa
Hotel: Innisbrook
Resort & Golf Club. Renovations completed:
November 2007. Price tag: $1.7 million.
Rooms: 600. Meeting space: 65,000
square feet. Key changes: Upgrades to the golf
course have been completed, and by the end of this year, the spa
will gain a 12,000-square-foot facility with 12 treatment rooms and
a new fitness center. Renovations to the property’s six pools,
tennis center, clubhouses and restaurants will finish by early
2009.
LA, New Orleans
Hotel: New Orleans
Marriott. Renovations completed: November 2007.
Price tag: $8.5 million. Rooms:
1,359. Meeting space: 80,000 square feet.
Key changes: Upgrades to the hotel lobby and the
“5 fifty 5” restaurant, serving French, Creole and Cajun food, have
been unveiled as part of an ongoing renovation that ultimately will
cost $38 million.
MA, Boston
Hotel: Renaissance
Boston Waterfront. Opened: This month.
Rooms: 471. Meeting space: 21,000
square feet. Key features: In the seaport
district, near the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, the
hotel has a seafood restaurant, a health club and a lobby
lounge.
NC, Greensboro
Hotel: Proximity
Hotel. Opened: November 2007.
Rooms: 147. Meeting space: 7,000
square feet. Key features: a gym, an outdoor pool
and a European-style restaurant named Print Works Bistro.
NJ, Somerset
Hotel: Crowne Plaza
Somerset-Bridgewater (formerly a Marriott).
Rebranded: November 2007. Rooms:
439. Meeting space: 14,000 square feet.
Key features: Adjacent to the Garden State Exhibit
Center, the hotel offers 22 meeting rooms, a health club, an
indoor/outdoor swimming pool, a restaurant and a lounge.
UT, Ogden
Hotel: Ogden Marriott.
Renovations to be completed: May. Price
tag: $7 million. Rooms: 292.
Meeting space: 16,000 square feet. Key
changes: upgrades to all guest rooms, the restaurant and
bar, and all meeting space.