|
|
Wave of Resort
Hotels Hits the Southeast
High-priced hotel projects are vying for business in
the Southeast's hottest markets.
Matthew Workman
George Bernard Shaw was once quoted in the New York Times as
saying, "The great advantage of a hotel is that it is a
refuge from home life." While that might be true, there
are a variety of other factors -- including the thriving economy
and an increase in business travel -- driving more people than
ever before to stay at these havens away from home. To accommodate
the demand, a wave of resort hotels is swelling around the region.
Many national hotel chains and developers are entering new markets
in the Southeast, while others are simply expanding their presence.
Some of these new hotels will be located in vacation hot spots
and others will be found in areas looking to make their mark
on the tourism trade. And still other hotel projects are opening
with the intention of gaining a share in the flourishing meetings
and convention industry. There is one thing, however, that all
of these hotels, resorts and inns have in common -- they plan
on succeeding by being bigger and better than the competition.
Movies and The Mouse
Since the addition of Universal Studios and MGM, Orlando has
been dubbed "Hollywood East" by many in the entertainment
industry. Combine that with the international appeal of Walt
Disney World, and Orlando has become the top vacation destination
on the planet. The city's 1999 combined domestic and international
visitor figure reached a record high of 42.6 million people
-- a 10.1 percent increase over the previous year, according
to the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
To accommodate this massive influx of visitors, Orlando has
over 100,000 hotel rooms, more than three-quarters of which
are located near or at the movie studios and Walt Disney World.
The total number of rooms in Orlando is expected to increase
to more than 125,000 by the end of 2003.
Who's leading the way in this new development? Mickey and his
group, of course. Being developed in three phases, Disney's
Animal Kingdom Lodge strives to recreate the feel of a South
African wilderness reserve lodge. Its first phase of 754 rooms
will open in April 2001, 139 more rooms will open the following
month, and the final 400 rooms will be ready in July 2001. Guests
will enter the lobby of the six-story lodge on the third floor,
from where they can look through a huge picture window or stand
on an elevated rock outcropping and survey more than 62 species
of animals -- including giraffes, zebras, gazelles and ostriches
-- roaming on 30 acres of land.
Less than a year after opening the Animal Kingdom Lodge, Disney
will unveil its Pop Century Resort, which will have 5,760 rooms
spread across 20 buildings. It will be built in two phases,
with the first phase of 2,880 rooms scheduled to open in late
2001 or early 2002. Each pair of buildings at the resort will
be themed to a different decade, from the 1900s to the 1990s,
taking guests on a journey through American popular culture.
Another popular Orlando attraction, Universal Studios Escape,
will be home to a new 654-room Hard Rock Café Hotel.
In addition to the hotel's ideal location in the center of Universal's
theme parks, the Hard Rock brand name will keep rooms full,
according to Michael Sansbury, Loews Hotels' regional vice president.
"People are familiar with it; they know that it represents
informality and good times," he says. The Hard Rock Hotel
is the second of three projects being developed as a joint venture
between Universal and New York-based Loews Hotels. The 750-room
Portofino Bay Hotel opened last year, and a 1,000-room Royal
Pacific Resort is currently under development.
Randy Miller, vice president of sales and marketing at Opryland
Hotel Orlando, is excited about the continued growth in the
area, particularly with the city's increased popularity for
meetings and conventions. "We're in the very best location
within the very best convention destination," says Miller.
"It's an incredible meetings/ conventions market and growing
every day. So we're taking advantage of a demand that is already
there."
Scheduled to open February 2002, Opryland Hotel Florida is situated
in Kissimmee, just five minutes from the main gates of Walt
Disney World. The hotel will feature 1,400 guest rooms, including
115 suites, and four acres of gardens under glass. But more
importantly, according to Miller, Opryland will have 400,000
square feet of convention and meeting space, including a 178,000-square-foot
exhibition hall. "It puts us at a very, very distinct advantage
over and above our competitors," boasts Miller. "We're
taking business from our competitors and from the convention
center because there are so many groups that need 75,000 or
100,000 square feet, and they feel like they're too small to
go to a big convention center. This way they can have it all
under one roof."
Aside from the world of roller coasters and movie sets, downtown
Orlando is quietly burgeoning into a world-class destination
for business travelers. At the forefront of this new growth
is the Embassy Suites Hotel Orlando-Downtown, located in Orlando's
central business district at Lake Eola. The hotel, which opened
in October, has 167 two-room suites, including two presidential
suites, plus 10,000 square feet of meeting space. Embassy Suites,
an upscale brand from Hilton, now has six locations in the Orlando
area.
The Westin Grand Bohemian, a 250-room four-star hotel being
developed by The Kessler Enterprise, will make a grand entrance
into downtown Orlando in March 2001. Located on South Orange
Avenue, across from Orlando's City Hall, the hotel will offer
9,600 square feet of meeting space and high-speed Internet access
in every room. Using the theme "An Experience in Art and
Music," the Westin Grand Bohemian will feature rare artwork
from the personal collection of Richard Kessler, president and
CEO of The Kessler Enterprise.
Florida's Fascination
Orlando isn't the only city in Florida where hotels are rising
into the skyline. Developers from all over the country are finding
areas throughout the Sunshine State with under-served transient
populations. One such developer is HBE Corporation of St. Louis,
Missouri. HBE is building Adam's Mark Jacksonville on the north
bank of the St. John's River. On schedule to open February 2001,
the 966-room hotel will be the area's largest and will play
a large role in attracting meetings and conventions to the city.
The Adams Mark will be the only hotel in Jacksonville to boast
110,000 square feet of meeting space and 21,000 square feet
of outdoor event space.
Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels will open its 11th Florida property
in the fall of 2001. Hyatt Regency Coconut Point will be located
in Bonita Springs, which is on the Gulf Coast near Naples. As
part of Pelican Landing, a master-planned community being developed
by WCI Communities, the 450-room resort will offer guests access
to an adjacent 18-hole championship golf course being jointly
developed and owned by Hyatt and WCI.
Advance a little further south to the beautiful beaches of Miami,
and extravagance becomes the norm. Hotels continue to outdo
each other in terms of size, service and, of course, style.
Opening this month, the 24-story Mandarin Oriental, Miami excels
in each department. A $100 million joint venture between Mandarin
Oriental International and Miami-based Swire Properties, the
hotel is situated on Miami's prestigious Brickell Key. The five-star
Mandarin Oriental, Miami will feature 329 guestrooms and suites,
many with terraces overlooking Biscayne Bay, a health center
with two tennis courts and a full-service pampering spa.
On Brickell Avenue and 14th Terrace, just down the street from
the Mandarin Oriental, New York-based Millenium Partners is
teaming with local developer Terremark to build a 794-foot tall
Four Seasons Hotel & Tower, which will dramatically affect
the downtown waterfront skyline. Scheduled to open in 2002,
the project is expected to encompass 1.5 million square feet
to be developed at a cost of $379 million. In addition to a
222-room Four Seasons hotel, the 64-story building will hold
200,000 square feet of office space, 176 residential condominiums,
84 Four Seasons condominium/hotel units, and a 45,000-square-foot
fitness and spa facility.
In the heart of booming West Miami, near the international airport,
Bass Hotels & Resorts, The Americas and El Salvador-based
Grupo Real have combined to open the Inter-Continental Miami
Airport West hotel. The $35 million, five-star hotel is dedicated
to meeting the needs of traveling executives. Each of its 150
rooms has three phones equipped with data ports and high-speed
Internet access.
Rocky Top Resorts
The new hotels in Florida are projects one would probably expect
from the tourism capital of the world. More surprising might
be the recent surge in development that's sweeping through Tennessee.
There's been an outpouring of construction dollars devoted to
hospitality in the state that's probably more well-known for
its industrial and warehouse properties. Perhaps even more unexpected
is the fact that most of these new hotels are being built in
places other than Memphis, the Volunteer State's largest city.
Nashville, the state's capital city, is seeing the most activity,
led by the Nashville Marriott Hotel at Vanderbilt University,
near the corner of West End Avenue and Natchez Trace. Being
developed by Atlanta-based Hardin Capital, LLC, and Washington,
D.C.-based Marriott International, this 11-story, 307-room hotel
is scheduled to open in October, 2001. It will be part of Hines'
2525 West End project, which includes a 14-story, 300,000-square-foot
office building, 65,000 square feet of upscale retail and two
new parking garages.
Now home to professional hockey and football teams, Nashville
is attracting sports enthusiasts from around the Southeast.
To help accommodate these new visitors, Hilton Suites Nashville
Downtown opened its 330 two-room suites in October adjacent
to the Gaylord Entertainment Center and in close proximity to
the new Adelphia Coliseum. Developed by Turnberry Associates
of Aventura, Florida, the Hilton Suites includes more than 14,000
square feet of meeting space, the well-known Palm Restaurant,
and Eddie's Sports Grille, a restaurant and bar concepted by
Tennessee Titans' running back Eddie George.
For those who prefer music to football, Memphis-based Development
Services Group is opening a $26.5 million Embassy Suites at
1811 Broadway, near Music Row. Scheduled to open June 2001,
the 270,000-square-foot hotel will feature 208 suites and approximately
3,500 square feet of meeting space. Dan McEwan, vice president
of Development Services Group, has seen the Music City emerge
into the development spotlight over the last five years. He
attributes the boom to a variety of factors, including the expansion
and success of the country music industry and Music Row, the
revitalization of downtown and the arrival of big-time professional
sports. However, McEwan is hesitant to compare Nashville's growth
with the course that Orlando has taken. "Walt Disney brought
so much attention to Orlando," he says. "If Nashville
continues down the track it's on, I believe it could look much
more like Atlanta."
About 125 miles southeast of Nashville lies the quaint town
of Chattanooga. Known more for the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, the
city isn't usually considered a feasible destination for national
conferences and meetings. That's all about to change. Benchmark
Hospitality and Hines Interests are building what is sure to
be the center of activity in eastern Tennessee for years to
come -- The Chattanoogan. Expected to open April 2001, the $43
million, 210,000-square-foot hotel will include 202 guest rooms
and suites and a 25,000-square-foot conference center. The City
of Chattanooga has helped to finance the project in an effort
to revitalize the downtown area. It may bring a boost to the
entire region, as Chattanooga is only about a two-hour drive
from key markets such as Atlanta, Nashville, Birmingham and
Knoxville.
"If you look at the Chattanooga market, you might make
the determination that there isn't a demand for this project,"
notes Eric Whitson, director of sales and marketing at The Chattanoogan.
"But if you set your sights a little farther out in the
region, you see that there's a real void in high-quality meeting
facilities." To further the renaissance, ground will be
broken this month on a $45 million expansion of the convention
center. The city hopes these projects will act as a catalyst
for growth in terms of retail, restaurants and entertainment
venues.
"There have been a lot of properties bought up on the south
side in anticipation of us opening up," says Whitson. "It'll
be interesting to see what people are going to do with these."
Puttin' on the Ritz
If there is one hotel brand that is synonymous with elegance
and luxury, it's Ritz-Carlton. Recognized throughout the world
for exquisite attention to detail and impeccable service, Atlanta-based
Ritz-Carlton manages hotels that are often the choice for travelers
seeking a little more than a good night's rest. Until lately,
however, the Southeast has given Ritz seekers only a handful
of choices, with nine locations around the region. By the end
of next year, the signature Ritz-Carlton service will be available
in six additional distinctive properties.
Not surprisingly, Florida will be the recipient of many of the
new openings. Scheduled to open March 2001, the Ritz-Carlton,
Coconut Grove will be located in twin towers overlooking Biscayne
Bay in Miami. The 115-room hotel is being developed by Grove
Ocean, LLC, a group owned by the president of McCann of South
Florida, the project's general contractor.
The McCann group is also teaming with Flag Finance and Investment
and Lion's Stone to open a 380-room Ritz-Carlton on Miami's
South Beach. Scheduled for completion in summer 2001, the hotel
will occupy the former DiLido Hotel building after an extensive
$100 million renovation and expansion.
On the west coast of Florida, the 295 rooms of The Ritz-Carlton,
Naples Golf Resort will overlook Tiburón, a 36-hole golf
course designed by Greg Norman. Opening late 2001, the 287,000-square-foot
hotel is being developed by Host Marriott, which also owns a
463-room Ritz-Carlton less than five miles away. According to
Greg Larson, vice president of finance and investor relations
at Host Marriott, the two projects offer guests the choice of
beach combing on the Gulf of Mexico or golfing on a world-class
course. Both hotels will be operated by the same general manager
and executive team.
Wichita, Kansas-based Core Development began construction last
year on a 17-story building in Sarasota that will house 270
hotel rooms on the first nine floors and approximately 50 condominiums
on the top eight floors, all of which will be managed by Ritz-Carlton.
Bonita Springs, Florida-based WCI Communities will develop another
80 Ritz-managed condominiums next to the hotel. "Obviously,
we'll be a seasonal hotel, but we also have the ability to be
a business hotel," explains Kevin Daves, president of Core
Development, alluding to the building's 18,000 square feet of
conference space. The project is slated for completion November
2001.
With two Ritz-Carlton hotels already open in Atlanta, the next
Georgia location will be at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro,
approximately 65 miles east of the metropolitan area. In addition
to a main house and conference pavilion, 250 guest rooms at
the Ritz-Carlton Lodge will be dispersed among three low-rise
buildings to suggest the feel of a country estate. Situated
on 35 acres along the banks of Lake Oconee, the lodge will offer
access to the four championship golf courses on the plantation
designed by such notables as Jack Nicklaus and Rees Jones. The
hotel buildings, as well as a 26,000-square-foot spa, are being
designed with a Creek Indian theme.
After a 3-year absence, Ritz-Carlton returned to the nation's
capital in October with a 300-room hotel in Washington, D.C.'s
West End. The $260 million project, which includes 162 condominiums
and 25,000 square feet of retail space, was developed by a joint
venture between Millennium Partners and Eastbanc -- the same
team that will bring the city its second Ritz-Carlton. A $150
million, mixed-use project in Georgetown will be highlighted
by a 93-room boutique hotel, a 3,000-seat Loews Theatres multiplex
and 13,000 square feet of retail space.
Around the Region
Many other areas around the Southeast are drawing the attention
of developers and luring business from traditional destinations.
A growing city where one might anticipate finding a lofty hotel
project is Charlotte. A rising star in the convention business,
Charlotte will soon get the final puzzle piece for making it
an ideal site for business meetings. The Charlotte Westin will
open in 2002 directly across from the Charlotte Convention Center,
bringing 700 rooms and more than 46,000 square feet of meeting
space to the Queen City. The $143 million hotel will be developed
and owned by Atlanta-based Portman Holdings and operated by
Starwood Hotels & Resorts, the owner of Westin Hotels &
Resorts.
Asheville, North Carolina, perhaps isn't the most likely place
to find a deluxe hotel project, but The Biltmore Company believes
it's the perfect location. A $31 million, 213-room inn will
open on the historic Biltmore Estate in spring 2001. Established
as a country retreat by George Vanderbilt in 1895, Biltmore
Estate is the leading attraction for visitors to Asheville,
and the new inn will offer the only overnight accommodations
on the property.
Isle of Capri Casinos is gambling that a new hotel and entertainment
center in Tunica, Mississippi, will pay off in terms of more
visitors to its casino. Last month, the Biloxi, Mississippi-based
company opened Isle of Capri Tunica with 227 rooms, of which
120 are deluxe suites with in-room whirlpool tubs, and the $14
million Paradise Entertainment Center, which will produce Las
Vegas-style shows in two state-of-the-art theatres. Gregory
Guida, Isle of Capri's vice president of development, is quick
to point out that hotels are an integral component of the casino
business. "We're a gaming company, and that's part of the
gaming product," says Guida. "All of the casinos have
hotels. We're the last entrant into the market."
In Portsmouth, Virginia, Marriott International is opening the
Renaissance Portsmouth Hotel and Waterfront Conference Center,
which will serve visitors to the Hampton Roads area beginning
January 2001. Situated on a 3.5 acre site in Old Towne Portsmouth
overlooking the Elizabeth River, the four-star Renaissance Portsmouth
will feature 249 rooms and more than 24,000 square feet of meeting
space. The hotel is owned and managed by Crestline Hotels &
Resorts of Bethesda, Maryland, and is being developed by Atlanta-based
Stormont Trice Corporation.
©2001 France Publications, Inc. Duplication
or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization
from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of
this article contact Barbara
Sherer at (630) 554-6054.
|
|
|
