CITY BEAT
Spokane, Wash.
Revamped Center
One year after unveiling its new 62,000-square-foot exhibit hall, the Spokane Convention Center will wrap up a renovation of the original exhibit space. Completion of the project next month will bring the center’s total event space to 101,000 square feet. In January, The Davenport Hotel opened its new 328-room tower. Spokane International Airport has completed an $18 million revamp, including the addition of 10 new restaurants.
Fort Worth, Texas
More Rooms and Space
Scheduled to open by year-end 2008, the 604-room Omni Fort Worth headquarters hotel, adjacent to the Fort Worth Convention Center, will offer 48,000 square feet of meeting space. The 430-room Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel & Spa, which features 22,000 square feet of meeting space, is on target to reopen in late 2007 or early 2008, following a multimillion-dollar renovation and rebranding. In all, the city is adding more than 1,200 hotel rooms via various projects.
AL, Mobile
Hotel: The Battle
House, A Renaissance Hotel. Reopened: May.
Price tag: $220 million. Rooms:
238. Meeting space: 40,000 square feet.
Key features: This revamped 1852 hotel will be
connected to the new RSA Battle House Hotel, to open later this
year. The combined property will feature a fitness center, a
business center, fine dining and a spa.
CA, Palm Springs
Hotel: The Colony
Palms Hotel. Reopened: April. Price
tag: $15 million. Rooms: 60.
Meeting space: TBD. Key changes:
completely redesigned guest rooms and casitas with two-person
outdoor bathtubs, Wi-Fi high-speed Internet and flat-panel TVs, as
well as a new poolside restaurant and spa facility; meeting space
is expected in the near future.
CA, San Diego
Hotel: The Westin San
Diego Emerald Plaza (formerly a Wyndham).
Rebranded: April. Price tag: $13
million. Rooms: 436. Meeting
space: more than 20,000 square feet. Key
features: a WestinWorkout fitness center;
an outdoor pool; a restaurant; and Unwind: A Westin Evening Ritual,
during which guests socialize and enjoy cocktails and snacks in the
lobby.
Plush revamp.The Greenbrier
Resort in White Sulfur Springs, W.Va., reopened last April after a
$50 million renovation. All 721 guest rooms at the historic
property were redone with new bedding, linens and plasma-screen
TVs; 63 rooms were given new d}cor and marble bathrooms. This
summer, the property will add a new restaurant called Hemisphere
and a lounge. (304) 536-1110; www.greenbrier.com
CO, Vail
Hotel: Vail Plaza
Hotel & Club. Opening: late summer.
Price tag: $180 million. Rooms:
207. Meeting space: 7,000 square feet. Key
features: several decks and balconies, two restaurants, a
lounge, a spa and suites that include a full gourmet kitchen
complete with private chef.
MO, Kansas City
Hotel: The Holiday Inn
Downtown Kansas City-The Aladdin. Opened: May.
Rooms: 193. Meeting space: 4,000
square feet. Key features: a marble lobby and art
deco furnishings, complimentary wired and wireless Internet, dining
facilities, a business center, two meeting rooms and one
ballroom.
VT, Burlington
Hotel: Courtyard
Burlington Harbor. Opened: April.
Rooms: 127. Meeting space: 3,000
square feet. Key features: guest rooms with
high-speed Internet access and HD TVs, a fitness center, a business
center and an indoor pool.
WA, Bellingham
Hotel: The Best
Western Lake-way Inn & Conference Center. Renovations
completed: June. Price tag: $1.5 million.
Rooms: 132. Meeting space: 11,000
square feet. Key features: guest rooms with new
furnishings, bathrooms, bedding, and flat-panel TVs; a resurfaced
pool area and new pool furniture.