CITY BEAT
Wilmington, N.C.
New Convention Facility
The new Wilmington Convention Center, on North Carolina’s Cape Fear Coast, is scheduled to open by year-end 2010. The $50 million facility, in the city’s downtown waterfront district, will feature a 40,000-square-foot exhibit hall and 22,000 square feet of meeting space. Supporting the center will be a 275-room Marriott-branded hotel, also scheduled to open in 2010.
Monterey, Calif.
Building and Revamping
More than $200 million of hotel investment is in the works. Scheduled to open by year-end 2009 is the new 330-room Fairmont Monterey, with 24,000 square feet of meeting space and a 14,000-square-foot Willow Stream spa. A new 208-room luxury property, still unnamed, is under construction within walking distance of the Monterey Aquarium. The Hyatt Regency is in the midst of a $40 million renovation, to be finished in January 2008, the highlight of which is a new 8,000-square-foot spa with 12 spa suites.
CO, Denver
Hotel: Brown Palace
Hotel & Spa. Renovations to be completed: May.
Price tag: $8 million. Rooms:
241. Meeting space: 13,000 square feet.
Key changes: renovated guest rooms to be wrapped
up this month and a guest bathroom facelift to be completed by the
end of 2008.
GA, Atlanta
Hotel: Hyatt Place
Atlanta Galleria (formerly AmeriSuites). Opened:
March. Rooms: 123. Meeting space:
1,586 square feet. Key changes: renovated guest
rooms and public spaces; now offering free shuttle within a
five-mile radius.
HI, Honolulu
Hotel: Ohana Honolulu
Airport Hotel (formerly Honolulu Airport Hotel).
Renovations to be completed: June. Price
tag: $6 million. Rooms: 307.
Meeting space: 2,400 square feet. Key
changes: free wireless Internet in lobby; renovating guest
rooms and meeting space.
Atlanta allure.The Atlanta Airport Marriott will finish up an $18 million
renovation of its 638 guest rooms and suites later this month. The
new digs will feature upgraded bathrooms, furnishings, bedding and
additional technology, including a connectivity panel that allows
guests to listen to an iPod, watch television and surf the Internet
simultaneously. (404) 766-7900; marriott.com
MD, Rockville
Hotel: Crowne Plaza
Rockville (currently Atrium Court Hotel).
Rebranding: June. Price tag: $6
million. Rooms: 150. Meeting
space: 13,000 square feet. Key changes:
new business center, upscale room amenities, a 3,700-square-foot
terrace, high-speed Internet access, health club and new
restaurant/lounge.
NC, Charlotte
Hotel: Hilton
Charlotte Center City. Renovations to be
completed: in phases. Price tag: $25
million. Rooms: 401. Meeting
space: 30,000 square feet. Key changes:
upgraded guest rooms and meeting space; new restaurant, lounge and
revamped lobby in progress.
NJ, Princeton
Hotel: Premiere Hotel
Princeton. Rebranding: becoming Doubletree Hotel
Princeton in late summer. Price tag: $10 million.
Rooms: 238. Meeting space: 7,000
square feet. Key features: complete revamp
includes guest rooms, restaurant, lobby and meeting space.
TX, Austin
Hotel: Four Seasons
Hotel Austin. Renovations to be completed: in
phases. Price tag: $15 million.
Rooms: 291. Meeting space: 16,079
square feet. Key changes: new spa to open by June
15, new restaurant in August and renovated guest rooms shortly
thereafter.
WA, Seattle
Hotel: Alexis Hotel.
Renovations to be completed: June.
Rooms: 109. Meeting space:
approximately 3,000 square feet. Key changes:
renovating guest rooms, with plans to revamp meeting space in the
works.