On 15 oceanfront acres of Maui's sunny southern coastline, Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea has just completed an extensive $50 million renovation. All 380 guest rooms and suites have been remodeled, and now feature new furnishings, carpet, and soft goods; high-definition 42” flat-screen TVs; Braun Tassimo coffee/latte/tea/hot chocolate machines; and iHome clock/radio/DVD/iPod/MP3 players. The entire resort is now set up for high-speed wireless Internet access. Also on site: a new steak and seafood restaurant, DUO. It complements the award-winning Wolfgang Puck's Spago Maui and the Italian favorite, Ferraro's Bar e Ristorante. Additional upgrades include three new oceanfront outdoor Hawaiian hales for The Spa, constructed in the traditional Hawaiian style without nails or screws. And the resort has replaced its entire laundry facility — to accommodate the new 100 percent cotton Italian linens now used in every guest room — by an energy-efficient on-site facility. The property opened in 1990 as Four Seasons Hotels' first resort.
Westin Monache Resort Mammoth Lakes, Calif. The News: A new resort is coming to the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, south of Reno, Nev., and northeast of Los Angeles.
Specs: The 230-unit condominium-hotel, located in The Village at Mammoth, adjacent to Mammoth Mountain's 15-passenger express gondola, will feature 2,000 square feet of meeting space.
Time Frame: The scheduled opening is fall 2007.
News: A major renovation has upgraded the hotel's 395 guest rooms, main lobby, fitness facilities, and public spaces.
Specs: The hotel includes a 13,000-square-foot facility for meetings and conferences with 90 percent of the function and breakout space located on one floor. Guest rooms now feature the Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed and 32-inch LCD flat-panel TVs. Bathrooms have granite countertops and tile floors.
Time Frame: Completed in June 2007
The News: A $120 million restoration and expansion of this circa 1796 property, which was closed for 21 years prior to the restoration
Specs: This 2,200-acre resort, a Benchmark Hospitality International property, features 216 guest rooms, the 30,000-square-foot Springs Eternal Spa, and an 18-hole golf course.
Time Frame: Reopened July 12, 2007
Plus: Former guests at this natural-springs resort include Daniel Webster, Henry Ford, and Presidents Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, James K. Polk, and Zachary Taylor.
The News: The Grosvenor Resort will become the Regal Sun after a $25 million renovation.
Specs: All 626 guest rooms and suites, the 19,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, the lobby, the restaurants and lounges, the pool area, guest room corridors, and pre-function space are being renovated.
Time Frame: Completion is slated for September 1, 2007.
The News: Tampa's newest luxury hotel is set to open in the Westshore business and shopping district.
Specs: The hotel will have 21,000 square feet of meeting space and 323 guest rooms.
Time Frame: Opening is scheduled for late summer 2007.
The News: The Plaza is undergoing a $400 million renovation and adding 15,000 square feet of meeting space.
Specs: The meeting spaces will be located on the third floor and will include seven rooms for up to 450 people.
Time Frame: Plaza Events is currently taking reservations for the meeting spaces beginning December 2007.
The News: After a $12 million renovation, a Sheraton hotel reopens as a Crowne Plaza.
Specs: 500 guest rooms, 43,000 square feet of meeting space (with 28 meeting rooms), including the Summit Ballroom, with views of Pikes Peak
Time Frame: Opened August 14, 2007
News: The opening of the 16th-floor Charles View Ballroom
Specs: 2,900 square feet of function space offering fantastic views of the Charles River and the Boston skyline. The hotel has 469 guest rooms.
News: A new $50 million Valley Wing has opened.
Specs: It includes an additional 142 rooms and suites (bringing the hotel's total to 670), a grand ballroom and conference facilities, a restaurant, a health club, and CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La.
Time Frame: Opened in March 2007
News: A Rocco Forte five-star hotel will open soon in downtown Munich.
Specs: There will be 132 guest rooms, some overlooking the Old Botanical Gardens; seven conference rooms for up to 60 people; and a two-level ballroom.
Time Frame: Opening is scheduled for October 2007.
After 20 years as director of insurance sales at Boca Raton Resort and Club, in Boca Raton, Fla., Anne Erickson is now director of accounts, insurance, for the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, which is undergoing a $1 billion renovation and expansion, expected to be complete in 2008.
Julie Stovroff has joined Preferred Hotel Group in Denver as director, group sales, insurance and financial services. For the past 14 years, she was vice president of sales for the Denver office of hinton+grusich.