SUWANEE, GA. —Duluth, Ga.-based Satellite Hospitality Group has signed as franchise agreement with Cambria Suites for development of a 100-room hotel at 1222 Satellite Blvd. in Suwanee. Room amenities include free wireless Internet and LCD televisions. The hotel also features a bistro dining area, a fitness center and a convenience store. No groundbreaking date has been set.
ORLANDO, FLA. —Six Rosen Hotels & Resorts properties in Orlando will undergo a combined $100-$200 million renovation beginning in 2009 and spanning the next 7 years. The 2,700 guest rooms at Quality Inn International, Rodeway Inn International, Quality Inn Plaza and Comfort Inn Lake Buena Vista will undergo refurbishment starting in February. The room renovations will cost $50 million and should be completed by 2011. Rosen will also add 100,000 square feet of meeting space to both the Rosen Plaza and the Rosen Centre, which will deliver in 2012. Finally, officials will build 400-700 additional rooms in Rosen Plaza by 2016. When the renovations are complete, Florida’s Green Lodging status will be pursued for each of the properties.
MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — After an 18-month, $200 million renovation and expansion, the 631-unit Eden Roc is ready for business. The Miami Beach hotel, part of the Renaissance Beach Resort & Spa chain, features a new 21-story Ocean Tower, a renovated lobby with floor-to-ceiling windows and 70,000 square feet of event space. Three new restaurants — the Cabana Beach Club, The Waterfall Grill and Gia Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar — are housed in the property; a fourth restaurant is set to open next year. Lustre, a high-end boutique, has recently opened, and Starbucks Coffee will start serving customers in mid-November. The 21,000-square-foot Spa of Eden will deliver next spring.
MUKILTEO, WASH. — InterContinental Hotels Group is developing a 130-room Staybridge Suites in Mukilteo. Located at the intersection of Mukilteo Speedway and Paine Field Boulevard, the five-story, all-suites hotel will feature 1,900 square feet of meeting space, the brand’s Just Like Home Theater with a 52-inch plasma high-definition television, an indoor pool, a 2-mile nature trail, Wireless Anywhere Internet access, daily breakfast buffet, complimentary 24-hour guest laundry, a workout facility, a complimentary 24-hour business center and BridgeMart®, a 24-hour convenience store. The hotel is owned by Mukilteo Hotel LLC and will be managed by 360 Management Company LLC, under a license agreement with a company in the InterContinental Hotels Group. Completion is slated for fall 2009.
ARLINGTON, VA. — Chevy Chase, Md.-based JBG Cos. has broken ground on the Renaissance Crystal City Potomac Yards and the Residence Inn Crystal City Potomac Yards. The property, which encompasses the two hotels, is being built to LEED standards. Renaissance Crystal City, located on Potomac Avenue in Arlington, will feature 300 rooms, a 10,000-square-foot ballroom and 10,000 square feet of meeting rooms. The 325-unit Residence Inn will feature dishwashers and full-sized refrigerators in each room. Delivery is slated for winter 2010.
EL PASO, TEXAS — San Antonio-based K Partners Hospitality Group has broken ground for the construction of a $24 million, two-hotel complex in San Antonio. The 5–acre, $24 million project is located at Remcon Circle, at the southeast intersection of Interstate 10 and North Mesa Street. Construction will consist of a four-story, 103-room Springhill Suites and a four-story, 95-room Fairfield Inn & Suites, both of which are Marriott brands. The Springhill Suites will feature an outdoor swimming pool, a fitness center, 1,100 square feet of meeting space, an executive boardroom and complimentary Internet access. The Fairfield Inn & Suites will feature an indoor swimming pool and whirlpool, 600 square feet of meeting space, an executive boardroom, a business library, ergonomic work areas and complimentary Internet access. The former hotel is expected to open in the second quarter of 2009, while the latter hotel is expected to open in the third quarter of 2009. Construction financing is being provided by Atlanta-based Specialty Finance Group.
ROBINSON, PA. — Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL & Associates and Charlotte, N.C.-based Faison Enterprises have announced that a 124-room Courtyard By Marriott will join the tenant roster at Settlers Ridge, a 600,000-square-foot, open-air shopping center that the two companies are developing in Robinson. The hotel will be developed by Concord Hospitality. It will feature a restaurant and lounge, meeting space, a central courtyard, an exercise room and a swimming pool. The project is scheduled for completion in November 2009. Settlers Ridge will be anchored by a 150,000-square-foot Giant Eagle Market District supermarket, a 16-screen Cinemark theater, LA Fitness, REI, a national bookstore and two clothing stores. The project also will feature 150,000 square feet of specialty retail stores and a roster of restaurants that will include P.F. Chang’s.
LOVELAND, COLO. — John Q. Hammons and Springfield, Mo.-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts is developing Embassy Suites® – Loveland Hotel, Spa & Conference Center in Loveland. Located at 4705 Clydesdale Pkwy., the eight-story hotel will feature 263 suites and 80,000 square feet of meeting space. Each guest suite features a private bedroom, a living room, two LCD televisions, a refrigerator, a wet bar, a microwave oven, a coffee maker, two telephones with data ports, high-speed Internet access, a work desk and an in-room safe box. The hotel will offer room service, same-day dry cleaning, daily cooked-to-order breakfast and a daily two-hour manager reception. Other amenities include a fitness center, an indoor pool, a sundeck and therapeutic spa treatments at the full-service Spa Botanica, John Q. Hammons’ signature spa. The hotel will be owned by John Q. Hammons and managed by John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts. Completion is slated for March 2009.
ALBANY, N.Y. — The grand opening has been held for TownePlace Suites / Albany Empire State, a 106-suite, extended-stay hotel located at 22 Holland Ave. in Albany. The seven-story building features an indoor pool, complimentary wired and wireless Internet access, and 400 square feet of meeting space. Each of the two-room suites features separate living and sleeping areas, a fully equipped kitchen, and a work station. The hotel is owned by Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based True North Development Group and will be managed by Interstate Hotels & Resorts.
SAN ANTONIO — CB Richard Ellis Hotels Group (CBRE) has assisted in securing a developer for the hotel portion of Éilan, a 120-acre mixed-use project currently under development in the La Cantera neighborhood of San Antonio. Through an RFP, CBRE helped bring aboard Park City, Utah-based Gemstone Hotels & Resorts to develop an approximately 200-room, boutique hotel on the site. Bert Stevens and Lisa Hankamer of CBRE helped negotiate the agreement. Upon completion, Éilan will contain 1.5 million square feet of new development, including two Class A office buildings totaling more than 200,000 square feet, approximately 1,400 upscale residential units, 30,000 square feet of boutique retail space, a chapel, an amphitheater, a specialty grocer and the hotel component. The project is being developed by Wereldhave USA, a division of Wereldhave Belgium.