* The Doubletree Hotel & Golf Resort Palm Springs recently completed a $5 million renovation, updating the entire interior to a "desert contemporary" theme. The hotel has 287 guest rooms, 12 deluxe suites, and one Presidential suite; 18,000 square feet of meeting space; tennis and racquetball courts; and 27 holes of golf.
* The Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center recently completed a $7 million expansion and renovation. A new meeting wing with nine meeting rooms will bring the property's total meeting space up to 33,000 square feet. All 250 guest rooms and public areas have been renovated. Located 20 minutes from Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport, the conference center also features golf, tennis, and a 10,000-square-foot health club.
* The 197-room Four Seasons Hotel Washington, D.C. next month unveils a $20 million enhancement that has added 60 new suites and expanded its health and fitness center to include a wide range of spa services customarily found at resorts.
* The Boca Raton Resort & Club has opened the Mizner Center, a state-of-the-art conference facility with 80,000 square feet of meeting space in 34 meeting rooms. The 26,037-square-foot Grand Ballroom and the 15,027-square-foot Royal Palm Ballroom each can be divided into 10 individual rooms. The 963-room Boca Raton Resort & Club also features two championship golf courses and 30 tennis courts.
* Regal Hotels International is in the midst of an extensive renovation of the 152-room Regal Bostonian Hotel. During the first half of the year, 109 of the hotel's guest rooms will be completely renovated in a European style, while 47 new guest rooms will be added. Additional meeting space is on the drawing board as well.
INTERNATIONAL BEAT * The 464-room Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore, is embarking on a $36 million upgrade of its Tower Wing. The renovation will expand the lobby, enlarge guest rooms, refurbish 40,000 square feet of meeting space, and add a business center, conference rooms, and private health club for the Tower's 119 Horizon Club rooms.
* The Grand Amsterdam Hotel in Holland recently opened a new wing with 12 conference and banquet rooms, more than doubling its conference space to 15,600 square feet. The Grand Amsterdam is a member of Europe's Westin Demeure Hotels, an affiliated brand of U.S.based Westin Hotels & Resorts.
* Regal Hotels International opened two hotels in Shanghai in 1997. The twin towers of the Regal International East Asia Hotel contain 300 guest rooms and suites along with nine meeting rooms, a full-service business center, and a ballroom that holds 450 guests for dinner. The Regal Shanghai East Asia Hotel is part of the Shanghai Sports Complex, which seats 80,000 spectators. The 350-room hotel has a ballroom for 600-person banquets.
OWNERS AND MANAGERS * ITT Sheraton recently renamed its 257-room Hotel Aspen The St. Regis Aspen, marking the first time the St. Regis name has been awarded to any other hotel than the original in New York City. Situated at the base of Aspen Mountain, the hotel offers a 9,274-square-foot ballroom, eight meeting rooms, and two boardrooms.
* Wyndham Hotels & Resorts recently converted three ClubHouse Inns to Wyndham Garden Hotels: the 138-room Wyndham Garden Hotel, Kansas City Airport; the 120-room Wyndham Garden Hotel, Omaha; and the 142-room Wyndham Garden Hotel, West Port (St. Louis). The hotels underwent a combined $5.5 million renovation to upgrade them to full-service properties, and each has 650 square feet of meeting space.
