Other Hotel News

The new 250-room full-service Renaissance Fort Lauderdale — Plantation Hotel, a contemporary, nine-story property, has 10,000 square feet of meeting space, including nine meeting rooms and a ballroom that can accommodate 450 people banquet-style. The ballroom's pre-function space overlooks the lake. The hotel is adjacent to the 36-hole Jacaranda Championship Golf Club and is minutes from shopping, Fort Lauderdale Beach, Pro Player Stadium, and the Fort Lauderdale International Airport.

W Hotels will open its 17th hotel in San Diego in December. Located in the heart of the new residential loft district, W San Diego will have 261 rooms, a health club, and 4,600 square feet of meeting space. W Hotels belongs to the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. group of properties.

As of September, luxury management company Fairmont Hotels & Resorts took over management of the 228-room Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, Hot Springs, Calif. The inn will be renamed The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. The 75-year-old resort recently expanded its spa to 40,000 square feet and enlarged its meeting facilities. Guests have preferred access to Sonoma National, a private 18-hole championship golf course.

The newly opened, 232-suite Renaissance Suites Hotel at Flatiron, Broomfield, Colo., is a boutique-style property between Boulder and Denver. The hotel's 6,300 square feet of meeting space includes a 2,880-square-foot ballroom.

The 730-room-and-suite Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, Phoenix, plans a $25 million renovation and addition to its conference and meeting space. Once complete, the resort — which sits on 39 acres at the foot of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve — will have more than 100,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, making it one of Arizona's largest meeting venues. Included in the addition will be the new 25,000-square-foot Frank Lloyd Wright Ballroom, expected to open in June. The ballroom addition will have more than 11,500 square feet of pre-function areas and an option of 10 breakout rooms. The resort also just completed $7 million in renovations to the lobby, conference center, and guest rooms. It is adjacent to the Arizona Biltmore Country Club.

Renaissance has been busy with updates and upgrades. The 349-room Eden Roc Renaissance Resort & Spa, Miami Beach, Fla., began a second phase, $14 million renovation program that includes a redesign of the resort's meeting space, restaurants, and pool areas. The 349-room resort, set on the beach, has 12 meeting rooms and 38,000 square feet of meeting space. The renovations are slated for a December completion.

The Renaissance Miami Biscayne Bay Hotel, Miami, Fla., has begun a $12 million remodeling that includes the renovation of 370 guest rooms and ballrooms. The hotel's front entrance and motor lobby are also being redesigned. The property has 528 guest rooms and 58 suites and includes 18 meeting rooms and 43,000 square feet of meeting space. All renovations are scheduled for a January completion.

Finally, the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, St. Petersburg, Fla., is completing a $3.6 million refurbishment, part of its 10-year anniversary of the hotel's historic restoration and grand re-opening in 1992. All 360 guest rooms and suites are being refurbished. The Vinoy's 40,000 square feet of meeting space includes 18 meeting and breakout rooms.

A Starwood property, The Westin New York at Times Square, New York City, opened ahead of schedule in mid-October. The 863-room hotel is the closest full-service hotel to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and has more than 34,000 square feet of flexible meeting and function space.