Plan Your Meetings

Names and Notes: June 2006

Names

InterContinental Hotels Group named Guillermo Valencia general manager of the Holiday Inn Resort Aruba.

Samuel “Sam” Huegli was named general manager of the Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Emily Hein was named director of marketing of Plan Your Meetings magazine.

The Denver (Colo.) Metro CVB hired three new employees. Tessa Taufen was named corporate sales manager, West region; and Leah Hatting and Tiffany Hoambrecker were hired as convention services managers.

Jill Demeter was named catering sales manager of the Sheraton Orlando (Fla.) North in Maitland Center.

South Florida-based On Call PR owner/publicist Linda Hamburger was elected vice president of the Gold Coast Public Relations Council. Hamburger also was named a finalist for Event Solution’s “Best Corporate Marketing Professional of the Year” Spotlight Awards.

Steve Milo was named director of sales of Miami-based Landry & Kling Inc., a meetings at sea destination management company.

Megan Klein became assistant to the president of the Alpharetta (Ga.) CVB.

Doug Luster was named lighting department manager of Atlanta-based Active Production and Lighting. Tony Garstin was hired as an account executive.

Bill McKay was named vice president of sales and marketing of the Savannah (Ga.) CVB.

Robert B. Hill was named general manager of the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin hotel in Austin, Texas.

Joe Macias was named catering manager of The Sheraton Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. Kathleen Kiefer was named assistant revenue manager and group coordinator.

Notes

National
AirTran Airways added daily nonstop flights from Chicago Midway International Airport to Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport and to Charlotte (N.C.) Douglas International Airport. The airline also began new nonstop service from Indianapolis (Ind.) International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport.

Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Starwood Hotels & Resorts are partnering to develop, own and manage upscale restaurants created by Vongerichten for Starwood’s luxury hotel brands (W, Westin, Le Meridien, St. Regis). Freestanding restaurants also will be operated outside of the brand’s properties.

Associated Luxury Hotels (ALH) added several new properties to its membership, including all the Gaylord Hotels resorts (in Nashville, Tenn.; Kissimmee, Fla.; and Washington, D.C., scheduled to open in 2008). Other new ALH properties include the Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel & Yacht Club (formerly the Fort Lauderdale Marina Marriott) and the Sandpearl Resort, slated to open on Clearwater Beach spring 2007.

Arizona
The Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort in Chandler (formerly the San Marcos Golf Resort) opened with 35,000 square feet of meeting space, two outdoor pools, lighted tennis courts, an 18-hole PGA golf course, three dining facilities, a business center and complimentary shuttle service to area attractions. The historic 295-room property also has 14 suites, including 12 junior suites and two presidential suites.

The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa in Scottsdale is now an all-organic resort. On-site gardens provide food and spices for the resort’s kitchens; a weekly organic farmers market occurs at its el Pedregal marketplace; and a new series of spa cooking classes teaches guests how to eat healthy.

Also in Scottsdale, the state’s first Jurlique Spa opened at the Caleo Resort & Spa.

Downtown Scottsdale has Wi-Fi Internet access throughout all hotels and public spaces; users must register online to pay for the service.

The Scottsdale CVB launched a blogging tool on its Web site to allow visitors to post questions and exchange tips and thoughts about the area’s attractions, dining and accommodations.

California
Solage Calistoga, an affordable, full-service resort by Auberge Resorts, is currently under construction and scheduled to open in spring 2007 in Napa Valley with 89 cottage-style rooms. Amenities include a 130-ft. pool with cabanas and lounges, a bar and casual restaurant with outdoor terraces and a full-service spa with soaking pools fed by geothermic springs. The property is the first of a new line of resorts from Auberge; future locations have yet to be announced.

The 360-room, Le Meridien San Francisco (formerly the Park Hyatt hotel) is scheduled to begin a $10 million renovation in late 2007.

Colorado
The Denver Metro CVB Web site launched Denver365 — a comprehensive daily, online calendar with photos and graphics from local organizations.

Florida
The 253-room Sandpearl Resort is scheduled to open in Clearwater next spring with a 700-ft. long beach, 20,000 square feet of meeting and event space (some with Gulf views), a luxury spa, 9,000 square feet of retail space and a Gulf-front swimming pool.

The Sheraton Bal Harbour Resort, originally scheduled to close for renovations at the end of last month, will stay open through the summer. The property is scheduled to reopen in 2009 as the St. Regis Resort and Residences, a luxury resort hotel with 268 residences, 219 condo hotel rooms and 24 club units. Additional amenities include a 25,000-sq. ft. Remede Spa, a fine dining restaurant and signature St. Regis butler service.

The Reunion Resort & Club in Kissimmee is scheduled to open 82 one- and two-bedroom vacation rental condos in its Reunion Grande section late this year. Other amenities include a conference center with an 8,750-sq. ft. ballroom, six meeting rooms and three breakout rooms, a personal concierge for each guest, on-site fine dining, a rooftop pool complex with a bar and grill and private cabanas and a fitness facility. Also expected to open later this year is a state-of-the-art, 5,600-sq. ft. horse stable facility with office space and a break room. In April, the annual Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open, the only full-field golf event conducted by the LPGA in Florida, is held on the resort’s greens. A Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course is scheduled to open in early 2007.

Monarch Hotels and Resorts became the official hotel management company for The Blue Rose, a new, 1,300-room condo hotel in Orlando. Amenities at the $850 million, 39-story luxury resort include a 1,000-seat Broadway-style theater, five internationally themed restaurants, a full-service spa, a conference center with 100,000 square feet of meeting space and heated, rooftop swimming pools.

By the end of this year, Hilton Hotels Corporation is scheduled to begin construction on a 1,000-room Hilton and a 500-room Waldorf=Astoria at Bonnet Creek, a resort development adjacent to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. The properties are expected to open summer 2009.

The 2006 edition of the “Unexpected Orlando” Guide, highlighting natural, cultural and heritage attractions in Orlando and Winter Park, is available from the Orlando CVB.  

The 227-room Hilton St. Petersburg at Carillon Park opened with more than 20,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 9,600-sq. ft. ballroom, executive boardrooms and breakout rooms. Other amenities include complimentary airport shuttle service, on-site dining, a Salvador Dali Museum gift shop, Dale Chihuly glass lobby sculptures and a private executive floor lounge serving complimentary breakfasts and evening cocktail receptions for VIPs.

 
The Quorum Hotel-Tampa added three new guest amenities: complimentary seated massages Monday through Saturday from 5 to 6:30 p.m., a courtesy business center and complimentary document printing in the lobby.

Georgia

The Alpharetta CVB and the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce are scheduled to launch a sports partnership to attract sports events and activities to the area.  Planned initiatives include creating a Sports Event Planning Book listing all sports facilities in Alpharetta, Cumming and Forsyth, and sending representatives to major sports shows and expos. 

The Greater Atlanta chapters of the National Association of Catering Executives (NACE) and the International Special Events Society (ISES) are co-hosting the Event Resource Expo June 13 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.

Atlanta’s first full-service Clarion Hotel opened by the airport after a $5 million renovation/rebranding. Amenities of the 232-room hotel include 24-hour shuttle service, 7,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, Wi-Fi Internet access, and indoor and outdoor pools. 

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport opened a new runway last month, serving AirTran Airways.

International Design and Display Group, a three-dimensional design and manufacturing firm, is moving its headquarters from Miami Lakes, Fla., to Thomasville. The company, which designs and installs signage for trade shows, is investing $1.3 million in the city’s historic district to revamp three buildings the company will use as its headquarters.

Louisiana
In New Orleans, the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas reopened last month after completing a multi-million dollar renovation.

Governor Kathleen Blanco, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin and the Hyatt District Rebirth Advisory Board announced plans to redevelop the current Hyatt Regency site, creating a 20-acre performance arts park in New Orleans, linked to the Superdome district by a pedestrian bridge. The park will be anchored by a new National Jazz Center; other features will include an outdoor auditorium, new city government buildings, a new civil courts building, and a renovated and expanded Hyatt Regency hotel. No construction or opening dates have been announced.

Maryland
The InterContinental Harbor Court Baltimore opened within walking distance of the downtown business district, and attractions such as the Maryland Science Center and the National Aquarium. The property has 195 guestrooms and 22 suites, a Four Star/Diamond restaurant, a full-service business center and 8,000 square feet of meeting and function space, including 11 meeting rooms, one grand ballroom with harbor views and three executive boardrooms. It’s part of a mixed-use development including office space and luxury condominium towers.

Nevada
In Laughlin, the Flamingo Laughlin hotel is scheduled to undergo casino and guest room renovations and reopen as the Aquarius Casino Resort in fall 2006. The 1,907-room resort sits on 18 acres; amenities include a 57,000-sq. ft. casino, seven restaurants, 35,000 square feet of meeting space and a 3,300-seat amphitheater.

New Mexico
The historic, 107-room La Posada de Albuquerque in New Mexico is closed while it completes a $12 million restoration, and is expected to re-open in the first quarter of 2007 under the management of Gemstone Resorts International, LLC. The renovation will revamp all guest rooms, the lobby and meeting space, and will install a complete solar heating system. Other amenities will include two restaurants with sidewalk dining and rooftop garden options, exhibits from area museums, art workshops with resident artists, an interactive kiosk for planning cultural activities, and live entertainment from the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, local colleges and jazz bands.

North Carolina
A 211-seat Ruth’s Chris Steak House is expected to open in Charlotte by December on South Tryon Street near the convention center, hotels, and attractions such as the planned NASCAR Hall of Fame and Third Ward Park.

Tennessee
Construction is scheduled to begin this month on the InterContinental Nashville, a $250 million luxury hotel, expected to open in late 2008 or early 2009. The hotel will have 18,000 square feet of meeting space (including a 10,750-sq. ft. ballroom), a full-service spa, retail space and up to four restaurants.

Texas
ConferenceDirect, a meetings resources company, named the Houston CVB “CVB of the Year.”

Schiller Del Grande Restaurant Group was chosen by The Houston Park Conservancy to oversee food and beverage venues in the 12-acre downtown park, currently under construction. Located adjacent to the George R. Brown Convention Center, the park is scheduled to open in 2007 with a signature destination restaurant as well as a casual, self-serve lakeside restaurant.

Upscale bowling lounge Lucky Strike is expected to open late next year in Houston Pavilions with 16 bowling lanes and a 90-seat restaurant.

A new cruise terminal is under construction at the Port of Houston. Expected to open spring 2007, the terminal will have 50 check-in stations, a VIP lounge and a 13,500-sq. ft. lounge area.

The Staybridge Suites Houston NW-Willowbrook opened with 114 all-suite rooms. Suites range from studios to two-bedroom/two-bath units and have fully equipped kitchens, ergonomic workstations, two-line speakerphones, complimentary high-speed Internet access, hot breakfasts, and guest laundry and workout facilities. The hotel also has a conference room for meetings of up to 25 attendees.

In Galveston, the Schlitterbahn water park opened. The year-round park has a 70,000-sq. ft. climate-controlled section, river-based transportation throughout and water coasters.

The Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport (formerly the Harvey Hotel DFW Airport) was reflagged following completion of a $25 million renovation that upgraded the 506-room property. The hotel has 38,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, including 31 breakout rooms and a 10,521-sq. ft. ballroom. Amenities include large workstations, luxury baths and bedding in guest rooms, workout facilities and Wi-Fi Internet access.

This month, the W Dallas-Victory is expected to open with 252 rooms, rainforest showerheads, 32-inch plasma televisions, W signature beds and toiletries from Bliss Spa, which has a full-service location on-site. Other amenities include an Infinity edge pool, a full-service fitness center and on-site dining.

Virginia
A 328-room Crowne Plaza hotel in Herndon, Va., reopened after completing a $7 million renovation. Amenities include the brand’s Sleep Advantage program, granite bathroom counters and tile surround tub/showers, on-site dining and 7,434 square feet of meeting space located two miles from Washington Dulles International Airport and 22 miles from Washington, D.C.