GRENADA, MISS. — Mississippi-based Hospitality Lodging has acquired the Comfort Inn in Grenada for an undisclosed price. The property will be repositioned as to the EconoLodge brand in early 2011. The two-story, 64-room hotel offers complimentary USA Today, wireless high-speed Internet access, microwaves and refrigerators, coffee makers, irons, ironing boards, hair dryers, premium cable television, a seasonal outdoor swimming pool and a fitness center. Anthony Falor of Hodges Ward Elliott's Select Service Division represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
MIAMI — Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Moss & Associates, serving as construction manager, has completed the construction of Soho Beach House, a members-only hotel located at 4385 Collins Ave. in Miami. The $48 million boutique hotel offers 50 rooms that average 1,300 square feet and Soho's signature rustic-designed Cowshed Spa. Additional amenities include a media screening room, two pools and direct beach access through landscaped gardens, as well as four bar spaces and restaurant Cecconi's Miami Beach. The project involved converting the Sovereign Hotel, a 1942 art deco property, into the Soho Beach House. Local architect Allan Shulman and London-based interior designer Martin Brudnizki designed the new property.
OCEANSIDE, CALIF. — Construction has begun on R.D. Olson Development’s $25 million Courtyard by Marriott hotel, located at 3501 Seagate Way in Oceanside. The four-story, 82,000-square-foot property will feature 140 guest rooms and suites and include 2,000 square feet of meeting space, a fitness room, and a large outdoor pool and spa. Marriott International will manage the hotel, which represents the company’s newest prototype design, while the Irvine, Calif.-based developer retains ownership. Seattle-based Johnson Braund Design Group is the project architect. The second hotel R.D. Olson will have developed in the market, the Courtyard by Marriott in Oceanside will be completed in fourth quarter 2011.
FORT WORTH — Next week will see the opening of the new Crowne Plaza Fort Worth South. The hotel, which is located at the intersection of Interstate 35W and Altamesa East Boulevard in Fort Worth, was converted from the Radisson flag. It features 247 guest rooms, more than 14,000 square feet of meeting space, an indoor pool and jacuzzi, a fitness center, a restaurant and a lobby bar. It is owned by Chhatrala Hotel Group under a license agreement with InterContiniental Hotels Group. The operator is Shiva Management.
CHICAGO — Magellan Development Group and Carlson have begin construction for Radission Blu Aqua Hotel at Aqua tower in Chicago's Lakeshore East community. The hotel will occupy the first 18 floors of the mixed-use tower, Aqua. The $125 million project will offer 334 guest rooms and suites on floors 4 through 18, a 12,500-square-foot ballroom with 20-foot ceilings, 27,000 square feet of meeting space and a 150-seat restaurant and bar. Swedish hospitality designer, Christian Lundwall, provided interior design services for the project. Hotel amenities include fitness facilities, an indoor lap pool, a spa featuring hot tubs and a sauna, steam and massage room, a private-party suite with a catering kitchen, a media room, a billiards and game area, a business center and a skygarden. The hotel is scheduled for completion in fall 2011.
MEDINA, OHIO; AND ALTOONA, IOWA — Best Western International has added two Midwest hotels to its worldwide chain. The company added the Best Western Medina Inn, a 77-room hotel at 2850 Medina Road in Medina. Owned by Hari OM Associates, the property offers 10 suites and three themed whirlpool suites, an indoor swimming pool, a dry sauna, a fitness center, guest laundry facilities, a business center and a complimentary hot continental breakfast buffet. Additionally the brand added the Best Western Altoona Inn, which is located at 300 34th Ave. in Altoona. Owned by Kalpesh Patel, the 85-room hotel offers an indoor heated pool, a fitness center, guest laundry facilities, complimentary high-speed Internet access, a business center and a complimentary hot continental breakfast buffet.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Sonnenblick-Eichner Co. has arranged an $80 million first mortgage loan for Charleston Place, a luxury hotel in downtown Charleston. The 435-room hotel offers 57,000 square feet of retail space, two full-service restaurants, 37,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, and a 20,000-square-foot state-of-the-art spa and fitness center. Retailers include Louis Vuitton, Gucci, LaCoste and Tommy Bahama. The borrower was Orient-Express Hotels.
CHICAGO — First Hospitality Group has re-opened Hampton Inn & Suites in Chicago's River North District, following a $4 million renovation. Located at 33 W. Illinois St., the 230-room hotel offers an updated lobby, update guestrooms and suites, an indoor swimming pool, an updated state-of-the-art fitness facility, a business center, a suite shop and a 5,000-square-foot meeting center.
SUGAR LAND — A 214-room Hyatt Place, the largest to date, has opened in Sugar Land, 20 minutes outside of Houston. Located at 16730 Creek Bend Dr., the hotel features more than 4,000 square feet of flexible meeting space as well as a lakeside pavilion with 2,000 square feet of function space. It is the 21st Hyatt Place in Texas and was developed by Hyatt Hotels & Resorts and Woodbine Development Corp.
NEW YORK CITY — Brack Capital Real Estate has partnered with a European hotel operator to develop a new hotel in Manhattan's Times Square. The joint venture signed a 99-year ground lease for 218-222 W. 50th St., which currently contains a parking garage. Specific plans for the hotel were not released, but the project will cost $50 million and will include construction of a 78,000-square-foot building. Sidney Rosenthal of Grubb & Ellis represented both parties in the deal.