Ritz-Carlton, Marriott Join Palladium Center

By Staff -- HOTELS Magazine, 10/1/1999

BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON The region's first Ritz-Carlton hotel and

a 550-room Marriott will join upscale retailers, restaurants and

movie theaters as part of the Palladium Center, a US$300 million,

1.5 million sq.ft. entertainment complex. The Center will be built

next to the Meydenbauer Center convention facility in downtown

Bellevue.

The 16-story, 300-room Ritz-Carlton Bellevue will be the first

Ritz-Carlton in the northwest and eastside's first 5-star hotel.

The luxury hotel will provide upscale accommodations for leisure

travelers and executives. Amenities will include 17,500 sq. ft.

(1,626 sq.m) of meeting and banquet space, two restaurants and

a full-service health club.

The 16-story, 4-star Marriott Bellevue will be Meydenbauer Center's

long-awaited convention hotel. The 400,000 sq.ft. (37,161 sq.m)

hotel will complement the convention center with 32,000 more sq.ft.

(2,973 sq.m) of meeting and banquet space, and a 150-seat specialty

restaurant.

The project's three developers--The Palladium Company, The Rhodes

Company and Tochterman Management Group--announced construction

is expected to begin in early 2000 followed by an early 2002 opening.

Palladium Center will be built on land owned and managed by Bellevue's

Tochterman family. Two New York-based real estate banking firms,

Sonnenblick-Goldman Company and The Greenwich Group International

LLC, will secure financing.

Hyatt Redevelops Historic Site

CLEVELAND, OHIO Hyatt Hotel Corporation, Chicago, and LR Development

Company, Chicago, are planning to redevelop the historic 109 year-old

Arcade in downtown Cleveland into a 294-room Hyatt hotel with

55,000 sq.ft. (5,109 sq.m) of retail space. The project marks

Hyatt's first property in Cleveland.

When the US$60 million project is completed in the spring of

2001, a Hyatt hotel will occupy the two office towers and the

upper three floors of the Arcade. The hotel lobby will be located

at the top of the grand staircase in the Superior Street tower

and will open onto the Arcade.

The 294-rooms include five junior suites, four hospitality suites

and a deluxe suite. The meeting space will include two banquet

rooms, two meeting rooms and four boardrooms totaling 12,000 sq.ft.

(1,115 sq.m) of meeting space. The hotel will also include a 150-seat

restaurant, a lobby lounge and health club. The first two floors

of the Arcade will be comprised of retail space consisting of

restaurants, a food court, boutiques and shops to service hotel

guests, tourists and downtown Cleveland.

Swissôtel Plans Hotel For Berlin

BERLIN Swissôtel, Zurich, Switzerland, is strengthening

its presence in the German market with the announcement of opening

the 320-room Swissôtel Berlin, a new luxury hotel on Berlin's

Kurfürstendamm. A corresponding long-term management agreement

was completed with Grothe Ku'damm Eck KG.

Plans for the hotel, currently under construction,

call for two executive floors, a restaurant and terrace overlooking

the Kurfürstendamm,

and a bar and a lounge in the lobby. A conference level,

with small meeting rooms capable of holding up to 30 people

and a larger banquet room, for up to 350 people, are also planned.

The proximity to Berlin's subway and railway network also guarantee

excellent connections to the city's fairgrounds. The hotel's

underground parking garage will accommodate 200 cars.

Swissôtel Berlin is slated to open in February 2001 and

will be fully functional during the famous International Tourism

Exchange ITB Fair. Swissôtel currently operates a luxury

and convention hotel in Düsseldorf. Swissôtel is owned

by Sair Relations, a division of Switzerland-based SairGroup,

formerly known as the Swissair Group. The company operates

or markets hotels in North America, Latin America, Europe, The

Middle East and Asia.

Promus Expands Collegiate Collection

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA Promus Hotel Corporation, Memphis, Tennessee,

announced a new addition to the company's Collegiate Collection

(a distinct division dedicated solely to developing, managing

and marketing hotel and conference centers located at and affiliated

with colleges and universities): The University of Florida and

Conference Center. The US$30 million project, currently under

construction on the grounds of the University of Florida Gainesville

campus, is scheduled to open in early 2000. The new property will

be branded as a Doubletree.

The hotel will stand as a seven-story tower with 248 guestrooms.

Meeting facilities and banquet rooms will be expansive and diverse,

accommodating up to 750 in 15,000 sq.ft. (1,393 sq.m.) of space.

Additional facilities will include a 168-seat, full-service restaurant

with a private dining area seating 24; a 48-seat outdoor dining

terrace; and a 72-seat lounge. A spacious, state-of-the-art fitness

center and large, outdoor swimming pool with a terrace area for

lounging are also planned.

Contracted by Hardin Construction Group Inc.,

Atlanta, and developed by Florida Conference Center Associates

Inc., the hotel will be owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance

Company.

ASIA

Novotel Pudong, Pudong, Shanghai, China; 310-rooms open late

2000 at a cost of US$40 million; Architect is Ecadi, China, and

the interior designer is Chung Partners (Hong Kong)/Akin So. Developer:

Cosco; Management and contact Accor SA.

Park Hyatt Saigon, Vietnam; 264-rooms open 2000; Management and

contact: Hyatt International.

Imperial Millennium Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand;

402-rooms open late 2000 at a cost of US$38 million; Architect

is SJA and 3D, Bangkok, and interior designer is P49 Design & Associates

Co., Ltd., Bangkok; Management: Inter Pac, Bangkok; Developer

and contact: Imperial Hotels Group.

CARIBBEAN

Melia Cayo Guillermo,Jardines del Rey, Cuba; 250 rooms open early

2000; Owned by Hoteles Gran Caribe; Management and contact: Sol

Melia.

EUROPE

Novotel, Glasgow, Scotland; 139 rooms open late 2000 at a cost

of US$16 million; Architect is Monro Cruickshank MacGregor Limited

(MCM) and interior designer is Alan Hill; Developer and contact:

Accor SA.

Ibis, Glasgow, Scotland; 141 rooms open late 2000 at a cost of

US$10 million; Architect is Monro Cruickshank MacGregor Limited

(MCM) and interior designer is Inscape. Developer and contact:

Accor SA.

Sofitel Danton, Courbevoie (Paris) France, 384-rooms opening

mid-2000 at a cost of US$78 million; Architect is M. Parente,

Paris and interior designer is P. Herouard; Developer: Sari Ingenierie,

Paris; Management and contact: Accor SA.

Rica Forum Hotel, Stavanger, Norway; 165-rooms

open late 2000; Contact Rica Hotels & Restaurants.

First Hotel, Gothenberg, Sweden; 370-rooms open 2002; Contact

First Hospitality AB.

MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA

Crowne Plaza Resort Abu Soma, Red Sea (beween

Safaga and Hurghada), 448-room open 2000; Contact Bass Hotels & Resorts.

Crowne Plaza Cairo, Egypt; 575-rooms open

mid-2001; Contact Bass Hotels & Resorts.

Sofitel Thalasso Essaouira, Morocco; 120 rooms open mid-2000

at a cost of US$9 million; Architect is K. Snoussi and interior

designer is JP. Hanky, Paris; Developer, management and contact:

Accor SA.

NORTH AMERICA

Radisson Hotel-San Francisco Airport at Sierra Point; Brisbane,

California; 210-rooms open mid-2000 at a cost of US$30 million;

Developer and management is Stonebridge Companies, Denver, Colorado;

Contact Carlson Hospitality Worldwide.

Ritz-Carlton, Los Cabos, Mexico; 350-rooms open late 2000; Owner

and developer is Grupo Turistico Escorpion; Contact The Ritz-Carlton

Hotel Company, LLC.

San Francisco Courtyard by Marriott,California;

414-rooms open early 2002; Developer is Swinerton & Walberg

Co., San Francisco, and Bovis Construction Corp. is managing

the project; Contact Marriott Lodging.

Opryland Hotel Florida, Kissimmee-St. Cloud, Florida; 1,400-rooms

open early 2002 at a cost of US$350 million; Contact Gaylord Hospitality

Group.

Wheeling Candlewood Suites, Wheeling, Illinois; 143-rooms open

early 2000; The developer is Contract Development L.L.C, an affiliate

of Newcastle Limited, Chicago, and McShane Construction Corporation,

Rosemont, Illinois, is the design/builder. Archideas is the project

architect.

Westin Beechwood-Fort Worth, North Fort

Worth, Texas; 300-rooms open early 2000; Interior designer is

Vision Design, Dallas; Contact Starwood Hotels & Resorts

Worldwide.

Dallas/Park Cities Hilton Hotel, Dallas,

Texas; 224-rooms open mid-2000; Developer is RM Crowe Company,

Dallas; Management and contact: MeriStar Hotels & Resorts

Inc.

Hollywood Casino & Hotel, Shreveport,

Louisiana; 300 rooms open mid-2000 at a cost of US$165 million;

Architect is Broadmoor Design Group, Louisiana, and the interior

designer is Morris Brown, Las Vegas; Management: HWCC-Shreveport

Inc.; Contact Hollywood Casino Corp.

Suburban Lodge, Charlotte, North Carolina; 128 rooms open early

2000; Architect is the Hauseman Group, Atlanta and the interior

designer is Brenda Patterson of Suburban Lodges, Atlanta; Developer

and management: AFCO Lodges, LLC, Atlanta; Contact Suburban Lodges

of America Inc.

Hyatt Regency, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; 355 rooms open mid-2000;

Management and contact: Hyatt Hotels Corp.

HOUSTON, TEXAS A US$35 million, 14-story

Sheraton Suites Hotel, is scheduled to open in early 2000. "This is the first time

in 15 years that a full-service hotel is being built in the Galleria

area," said Ron Evans, president of Wedge Hotels Corp., Houston,

the company building the 286-all-suites property. The

hotel is situated on 2.8 acres (ha).

The hotel will offer approximately 8,000 sq. ft. (743 sq. m.)

of meeting and banquet space, including the 4,200 sq. ft. (390

sq.m) Grand Ballroom that will break down into three separate

rooms. An entire floor will be dedicated to Smart Suites, all

of which will include facsimile equipment, photocopier and computer

printer. Other facilities include a 95-seat full-service restaurant,

a cocktail lounge off the lobby, as well as a gift shop. The hotel

will also have a fitness facility and outdoor heated swimming

pool, along with covered garage parking with valet or self-parking

available.