CITY BEAT
Palm Springs, Calif.
Expansions in Progress
The $34.7 million expansion of the Palm Springs Convention Center is under way. Slated to be completed in fall 2005, the project will increase the center’s exhibit space to 120,000 square feet and up its meeting room count to 21. Palm Springs International Airport has begun a $16.5 million project that will add a second concourse and new gates. The 285-room Doral Desert Princess Resort recently finished a $1.2 million revamp.
McAllen, Texas
Center Breaks Ground
After years of controversy, officials held a groundbreaking ceremony on Jan. 10 for the city’s new $50.2 million convention center, which will feature 174,000 square feet of enclosed meeting and exhibit space. Plans currently are being developed for a hotel to support the new center. Recently opened is the 193-room Country Inn Suites McAllen, which has five meeting rooms. The Holiday Inn Civic Center has renovated all of its 173 guest rooms.
CA, Atascadero
California’s wine country gains a new full-service boutique this
month with the debut of the 52-room Carlton Hotel, whose two
restaurants have been hopping since the property’s soft opening in
January. An on-site meeting room accommodates 120.
CA, Sherman Oaks
The former Valley Radisson reopened in January as the
Courtyard by Marriott-Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley following an
$11 million renovation. The 213-room property provides 15,000
square feet of meeting space.
FL, Cocoa Beach
The 148-room Doubletree Hotel Cocoa Beach Oceanfront,
which closed last fall after sustaining damage from hurricanes
Frances and Jeanne, reopened in January following an $8 million
renovation. The property offers 10,000 square feet of meeting
space.
Peak of Elegance. The former Hyatt Regency Denver has
started off the year busy, changing its name to the Grand Hyatt
Denver in January and adding 20,000 square feet of meeting space
this month with the Pinnacle Club, a 37th- and 38th-floor venue
with floor-to-ceiling windows. The 511-room property now offers a
total of 62,000 square feet. (303) 295-1234; www.hyatt.com
FL, Miami
The former Radisson Mart Plaza Hotel and Convention Center
premieres this month as the 334-room Sheraton Miami Mart Hotel,
following an $8 million overhaul. Along with guest room bed
upgrades was a revamp of all meeting areas, which comprise a total
of 25,000 square feet within the hotel and 140,000 square feet in
the adjacent convention center.
IN, Indianapolis
The 424-room Omni Severin Park, connected to the convention center,
finished off $1.2 million in meeting space renovations this month,
freshening up all 17,000 square feet as well as most of the
property’s public areas.
NJ, Morristown
The 224-room Westin Governor Morris reopened in January after
renovations gave the property a fresher look, a new restaurant and
wine bar called Copeland, and 10,000 additional square feet of
meeting space, for a new total of 25,000 square feet.
NY, New York
Midtown Manhattan’s W New York became even swankier this January
with the opening of Bliss49, the first of several Bliss Spas
expected to open at W properties. The 23,000-square-foot beauty and
wellness center has 17 treatment rooms and four manicure rooms.
OR, Portland
The former Doubletree Hotel-Jantzen Beach reopens this month as the
Red Lion Hotel on the River. The 318-room property, minutes from
Portland Airport and the Portland Expo Center, offers 34,000 square
feet of meeting space, 18,000 of which comprise the main ballroom.
A total of
$40 million will be spent on renovations next year.