Across the United States, a number of exciting new hotels will come online in 2013, from the Valencia Group's quirky Lone Star Court in Austin, Texas, to the massive Omni Nashville being built next to the city's new Music City Center. Here's a preview of these state-of-the-art properties, all of which will offer outstanding meeting and event space when completed.
RADISSON BLU, MALL OF AMERICABloomington, Minn.
Location is what it's all about at the new 500-room Radisson Blu, Mall of America, which will open next March. The hotel is in Bloomington, Minn., within easy reach of Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport and the Twin Cities, while a skybridge will connect to the 4.2 million-square-foot Mall of America and its more than 400 shops and attractions.
The property becomes just the second in Carlson Hotels' chic new Blu portfolio (the first opened to much acclaim in Chicago at the end of 2011). For planners, the hotel will feature more than 22,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including two ballrooms, along with a full-service spa, fitness facilities and an indoor swimming pool. Complimentary Wi-Fi will be available throughout.
OMNI NASHVILLE HOTEL Being built to serve as the headquarters hotel for Nashville's Music City Center, a new 1.2 million-square-foot convention center facility, the 21-story, 800-room Omni Nashville expects group meetings will be a main source of business. The property will feature a steak house, a live music space and outdoor dining, in addition to a new Mokara Spa and fitness center. A rooftop urban pool deck with spectacular views will be available for events. The hotel is expected to be granted LEED Silver certification upon completion in fall 2013.
ALOFT TUCSON UNIVERSITYTucson, Ariz.
Completely transformed from a former Four Points by Sheraton, the new 150-room Aloft Tucson University will debut in the city's downtown in March 2013. Many of Starwood's trendy, budget-conscious Aloft properties aren't built to handle events, but this one will have 1,723 square feet of meeting space divided among two high-tech rooms equipped with complimentary wireless Internet and 50-inch flat-screen monitors that connect either to a computer or a DVD player.
LONE STAR COURTAustin, Texas
Next
summer, the Houston-based Valencia Group will unveil its fourth hotel,
the 123-room Lone Star Court in Austin. This quirky newcomer will sport
an upscale, retro-inspired motor-court theme, including coin-operated
radios, easy chairs and tiled bathrooms, along with modern amenities.
The property will include 2,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, an
outdoor covered pavilion spanning 1,600 square feet and an adjacent
1,800-square-foot lawn.
ALOFT CHICAGO CITY CENTER
In June 2013, the Windy City will welcome the 272-room Aloft Chicago
City Center, on North Clark Street in the River North neighborhood. The
hotel will feature 1,946 square feet of meeting and event space with
advanced audiovisual capabilities such as a 50-inch flat-screen monitor
with a laptop hook-up and DVD player. Guest rooms will feature bright
linens, rainforest showers and ergonomic desk chairs, along with free
wired and wireless Internet access.
GODFREY HOTEL CHICAGO
Also coming to Chicago's burgeoning River North neighborhood next
summer, the 221-room Godfrey Hotel Chicago will have a stylish,
chef-driven restaurant, a spa, a 24-hour fitness center, two floors of
parking and free Wi-Fi. Meeting space will include a 12,000-square-foot
indoor/outdoor rooftop lounge and a conference area that will
accommodate up to 150 for seated dinners and about 400 for receptions.
THE B SOUTH BEACH Miami Beach, Fla.
In
April 2011, it was announced that Weston, Fla.-based InSite Group,
along with partner Cube Capital of London, acquired the Continental
Oceanfront South Beach Hotel at 18th Street and Collins Avenue, with the
intention of transforming it into a chic new B resort. Today the work
is nearing completion, and the B South Beach expects to open during the
second-quarter of 2013.
The property will include 252 guest
rooms, a restaurant, an infinity pool, and 3,000 square feet of meeting
and event space. There also will be 5,000 square feet of
beach-accessible outdoor function space and a private rooftop
hospitality suite.
PARK HYATT HOTEL NEW YORK
Part of a 90-story mixed-use tower on Manhattan's West 57th Street
between Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue, the 210-room Park
Hyatt Hotel New York will open in August 2013 directly across from
Carnegie Hall. Features will include a bar, a restaurant and 5,700
square feet of retail space.
The construction site was in the
national spotlight during Hurricane Sandy when a crane collapsed midway
up the tower. As of press time, it was unclear whether this incident
would affect the hotel's opening date.
SALAMANDER RESORT & SPAMiddleburg, Va.
A
30-minute drive from Washington Dulles International Airport, the
168-room luxury Salamander Resort & Spa will open next August on 340
acres in Middleburg, Va. The property is angling for an AAA 5-Diamond
rating and will feature 12,000 square feet for meetings and events in
spaces such as a 5,000-square-foot ballroom and the 100-year-old
Stallion Barn, which has been fully restored.
Amenities will
include a 23,000-square-foot spa offering all-natural "treehouse"
treatment rooms, and a full-service equestrian center with a 22-stall
stable and practice ring. The resort already is accepting group
bookings.
HOTEL SORELLA COUNTRY CLUB PLAZAKansas City, Mo.
To
open next fall, the 132-room Mediterranean-inspired Hotel Sorella
Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Mo., will have more than 5,700 square
feet of meeting space, as well as a 4,000-square-foot restaurant and
bar. The property will be the fifth from the Valencia Group, which
partnered with VA West Properties LLC on the project.
ACE HOTELLos Angeles
The
new boutique Ace Hotel will open next fall in downtown L.A. with 180
guest rooms, a restaurant and a pool. The property, purchased by Ace
from South Norwalk, Conn.-based Greenfield Properties last year for an
undisclosed sum, is in the landmark United Artists building, built in
1927 with a distinctive Spanish Gothic design, and which also houses a
2,214-seat theater that can accommodate meetings. The theater was a
Hollywood landmark during the golden age of film and even included a
private screening room for pioneering silent film star Mary Pickford.
DELANO LAS VEGAS AT MANDALAY BAYLas Vegas
Attached
to Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, the 1,117-suite THEHotel has closed and
is undergoing extensive renovations before reopening in late 2013 as the
Delano Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay. All of the suites and public spaces
will be redesigned. MGM Resorts, which owns Mandalay Bay and many other
Las Vegas properties, will manage the newly reminted resort under a
licensing agreement. The property features 8,000 square feet of meeting
and event space spread among eight boardrooms, each of which can hold up
to 65 attendees theater-style and about 35 classroom-style. Other
venues will include an American bistro by chef Brian Massie and a
Japanese restaurant by chef Akira Back.
QUAD RESORT & CASINOLas Vegas
Las
Vegas' 2,640-room Imperial Palace, a Caesars property, will be
rebranded as the Quad Resort & Casino later this month while
undergoing interior and exterior renovations that are expected to wrap
up near the end of 2013.
The property currently features more
than 40,000 square feet of meeting space. Both the front desk and bell
desk already have been renovated, and the building's exterior facade,
porte cochere, front lobby, casino floor, retail promenade and dining
levels will be renovated in stages.
The first phase of work will
involve an expansion of the casino floor to 35,000 square feet and is
scheduled for completion in spring 2013. The second phase will add
30,000 additional square feet of gaming space with a centralized
promenade bar and should debut in late 2013.
Caesars is working
with Las Vegas-based Klai Juba Architects on the exterior and structural
renovations, while the Friedmutter Group, also of Las Vegas, will
handle the interior design, which will complement the new brand's
whimsical spirit with modern décor, rich fabrics and textures, and
contemporary fixtures. Since the firm also was brought in to outfit
sleek newcomer The Cosmopolitan as well as the luxurious Red Rock Casino
Resort & Spa, the redesigned public spaces are sure to stand out on
the Strip.