CITY BEAT
San Diego
Spring Training
Just in time for baseball season, the 511-room Omni San Diego Hotel is set to open this spring next to the Padres’ new PETCO park. Within walking distance of the San Diego Convention Center, the new hotel will offer 20,000 square feet of event space, nine meeting rooms and two boardrooms. Also making its debut this spring is the historic USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum at Navy Pier. Beginning in April, the venue will offer space to groups of up to 500.
Savannah, Ga.
Reworked and Rewired
The 126-room Mansion on Forsyth will open in February 2005 overlooking leafy Forsyth Park. The hotel, in a restored landmark mansion, includes a spa, a restaurant and a culinary school. Meanwhile, in preparation for the G-8 Summit being held this June, the city’s International Trade & Convention Center is getting a high-tech makeover. Along with a complete rewiring for high-speed Internet access, the center will be made completely wireless.
AZ, Scottsdale
The former Camelback Inn Resort & Spa became the Camelback Inn,
a JW Marriott Resort & Spa, in January. The newly renamed
resort offers 453 guest rooms and 40,000 square feet of indoor
meeting space, in addition to 36 holes of golf and a luxurious
27,000-square-foot spa.
CO, Denver
Washington, D.C.-based Marriott International in January announced
the opening of a new JW-brand property, the 196-room JW Marriott
Denver at Cherry Creek. When it debuts this June, the $40 million
hotel will offer 5,660 square feet of indoor meeting space along
with an outdoor courtyard.
GA, Atlanta
The former Swissôtel Atlanta became the Westin Buckhead Atlanta in
January. The newly redubbed property has 365 guest rooms and 24,000
square feet of meeting space, including a 10,058-square-foot
ballroom, the largest room of its kind in Atlanta’s trendy,
upscale Buckhead neighborhood.
MA, Boston
The Le Méridien Boston was renamed the Langham Hotel Boston at the
beginning of this year, to reflect a shift in management. The
326-room property offers groups approximately 13,000 square feet of
meeting space.
BANK ON IT. The boutique Hotel Icon made its
debut at the beginning of 2004, revitalizing a historic bank
building in downtown Houston. Following a $35 million
transformation, the 93-year-old former Union National Bank now
contains 135 plush guest rooms, a Jean-Georges Vongerichten
restaurant and a spa with four treatment rooms. The property,
managed and part-owned by Woodlands, Texas-based Benchmark
Hospitality, offers more than 5,000 square feet of meeting and
function space. (713) 224-4266; www.hotelicon.com
NY, Westbury
The new 140-room Hilton Garden Inn Westbury opened in January. The
limited- service property offers 1,200 square feet of meeting
space. Westbury is 20 miles east of New York City’s La Guardia
International Airport.
OK, Oklahoma City
The 225-room Courtyard by Marriott Oklahoma City opened in January.
The hotel is part of the decade-long Metropolitan Area Projects
initiative, a downtown revitalization project. For groups, the $27
million Marriott has 5,000 square feet of meeting and function
space.
TX, Austin
The 800-room Hilton Austin opened in December. All guest rooms are
equipped with wireless high-speed Internet access, as are the
meeting rooms. The Hilton offers a total of 60,000 square feet of
meeting and function space on two dedicated floors of
the hotel.
WY, Teton Village
The new Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole opened in this ski mecca
last December. The cozy upscale retreat offers 124 guest rooms and
8,000 square feet of meeting and function space, plus a ski
concierge and a full-service spa to work out those post-slope
kinks.