CITY BEAT
Erie, Pa.
Center in the Works
Ground was broken in August on the $44 million Bayfront Convention Center on Lake Erie. The facility will feature 30,000 square feet of exhibit space, 14,500 square feet of meeting space and a 13,500-square-foot ballroom. Connected to the center will be a 203-room Sheraton with 6,000 square feet of meeting space. Both should open by mid-2007. Opening next summer is the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, a research facility and museum with 3,500 square feet of event space.
La Vista, Neb.
Complex Plans
Three hotels and an 80,000-square-foot convention center, a joint venture of John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts and the city of La Vista, will break ground in March 2006. The three hotels, a 260-suite Embassy Suites, a 220-room Courtyard by Marriott and a 120-room Residence Inn by Marriott, will be connected to the convention center. The project is set to open by fall 2007.
CA, San Francisco
The 260-room St. Regis Hotel opens this month in San
Francisco’s Yerba Buena neighborhood. The property has more than
15,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, including a
4,640-square-foot ballroom and 12 meeting rooms, a
7,500-square-foot outdoor terrace, and a 9,000-square-foot Remède
Spa. The entire property is equipped with wireless Internet.
MI, Detroit
The 1,298-room Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center renovated
roughly a quarter of its 100,000 square feet of meeting space in
September, updated its bathrooms, and added new mattresses and
linens to its guest rooms.
NJ, Long Branch
The Ocean Place Resort & Spa redesigned its 254 guest
rooms in September and added 1,500 square feet to its outdoor
patio. Overall, the resort offers 38 meeting rooms for a total of
40,000 square feet, including the 10,300-square-foot Atlantic
Ballroom.
A complex newcomer. The Westin Bellevue (Wash.)
opens this month with 337 guest rooms, 17 meeting rooms and more
than 25,500 square feet of meeting space. The hotel, 15 minutes
from downtown Seattle, is the centerpiece of an upscale retail and
dining complex near the Meydenbauer Center. Among the amenities are
a fitness center, a restaurant and high-speed wireless Internet.
(425) 638-1000; www.westin.com
NY, New York
The Residence Inn by Marriott ManhattanTimes Square will
become the brand’s first property in the city when it opens this
month. The hotel will feature 357 suites, three boardrooms and two
meeting rooms.
The famous Peacock Alley restaurant at the Waldorf=Astoria reopens
this month following a $5.5 million renovation and a four-year
hiatus. The restaurant has been redesigned to seat 96 people in the
main dining area; two additional private dining rooms accommodate
50 each.
TN, Knoxville
The 130-room Cumberland House Hotel opened in September adjacent to
the Knoxville Convention Center. The $13 million property offers
high-speed wireless Internet, a health club and a 24-hour business
center. In addition to a ballroom that seats 140 banquet-style, the
hotel has four meeting rooms and a 12-person boardroom.
UT, Salt Lake City
The 124-room Homewood Suites by Hilton Salt Lake City
Downtown opens this month with three meeting rooms (totaling 1,800
square feet) and a business center.
VA, Reston
The 518-room Hyatt Regency Reston finished a $12 million
renovation in September. The 12,300-square-foot Grand Ballroom and
the 3,600-square-foot Regency Ballroom were redesigned, as were the
guest rooms, conference suites and Regency Club Level rooms. In
addition to the two ballrooms, the hotel offers 20 meeting rooms
that account for 16,100 square feet of meeting space.