Celtic Manor Resort gears up for the big event.
Wales' five-star Celtic Manor Resort, in the city of Newport, is gearing up to host golf's prestigious Ryder Cup in October. The event is held every other year and features professional golfers from the United States and Europe. This year, the tournament will be played on Celtic Manor's par-71, purpose-built Twenty Ten Course, which opened for play in July 2007.
The property has also undergone some upgrades in anticipation of the tournament. The $9.5 million Twenty Ten Clubhouse opened in November 2007 to complement the new golf course, and this year all guest rooms and major public areas are being refurbished in preparation for the event.
Celtic Manor consists of two hotels — the 330-room Resort Hotel and the 70-room Manor House — as well as a convention center for up to 1,500 guests, a 14,000-square-foot exhibit hall, three championship golf courses, two health clubs, two golf clubhouses, two spas, and five restaurants.
Dolce Hotels and Resorts has expanded its portfolio with the addition of Silverado Resort in California's Napa Valley wine country. The 1,200-acre, 439-room golf resort features a 15,000-square-foot conference center, two championship golf courses, a 16,000-square-foot spa, and two restaurants. The resort's new owners, Silverado Resort Investment Group LLC, envision establishing a golf school to be named the Johnny Miller Golf Academy. (Miller is one of the resort's owners.) Troon Golf has been retained to manage Silverado's golf courses, both designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.: The 6,685-yard South Course and the 6,900-yard North Course.
The Island Resort & Casino's convention center begins a $2 million expansion project in July that is expected to be complete by April 2011. The convention center will expand from 9,500 square feet to 17,400 square feet. Also at the Harris, Mich., property, the 18-hole Sweetgrass Golf Club, which opened in 2008, recently was named “Best Casino Course in America” by Golfweek magazine.
Last fall, the 482-acre Bonnet Creek Resort opened on a site surrounded on three sides by Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. The 1,000-room Hilton Bonnet Creek offers 114,000 square feet of meeting space, while the 498-room Waldorf Astoria Orlando has 28,000 square feet of meeting space, including its own island designed for special events. Guests at both properties have access to a 24,000-square-foot spa and the 18-hole Waldorf Astoria Golf Club. Staff at the 7,108-yard, par-72 championship course can set up a private tournament for a group, including dining and golf-related prizes.
Miami's Doral Golf Resort & Spa, a Marriott Resort, completed a $16 million renovation in December. The 693-room hotel added the par-70 Jim McLean Signature Course, renovated the Spa at Doral, added a lobby bar and Latin-inspired restaurant, and enhanced its two other golf courses. The resort has 110,000 square feet of meeting space.
In El Cajon, Calif., 24 miles from downtown San Diego, Sycuan Resort has completed a $2.7 million renovation to its 100 guest rooms. All rooms have new carpeting, drapery, and bedding; flat-panel televisions; and bathrooms have granite vanities. Each room at the resort has a golf course view. The Sycuan features two 18-hole championship courses, Willow Glen and Oak Glen, as well as one par-3 course. Also on site: 11 tournament tennis courts and the Primrose Spa.
The Arizona Grand Resort in Phoenix completed a $52 million renovation of guest suites, main lobby, spa, restaurants, and golf course in April. Located at the base of the South Mountain Preserve, the resort has 640 residential-style suites and 100 luxury villas. The resort offers the seven-acre Oasis Water Park, an 18-hole Arizona Grand Golf Course, seven dining options, and the full-service Arizona Grand Athletic Club & Spa. Its 117,000 square feet of meeting and function space include a 20,000-square-foot exhibit pavilion.
In Litchfield Park, Ariz., Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa features 43,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and convention space. The resort is home to 54 holes of championship golf, including two courses designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. Now under new ownership of sports executive Jerry Colangelo and JDM Partners, the resort offers guests access to five golf courses, including two at the Arizona Biltmore Country Club, acquired under the new ownership.
At the Villas of Grand Cypress in Orlando, Deborah Potter and Stephen Seeram have been named national sales managers. Potter will cover accounts in the Midwest. Seeram will cover the Northeast in the U.S. and Canada.
Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa has named Lisa DeCambra-Morrill director of sales and marketing. Morrill was previously director of sales and marketing at The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort.
TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., partner of the nearby Sawgrass Marriott Resort, says it has got the largest golf clubhouse in America, offering unrivaled meeting space. The Clubhouse, built in 2007, has 13,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space as well as more than 3,250 square feet of upper-level outdoor terrace space with views of the Players Stadium Course. Also at TPC, the TOUR Academy provides individual and group training for golfers at all levels, as well as professional club fitting.