Ritz-Carlton Expands Its Presence In Naples

By Staff -- HOTELS Magazine, 7/1/2000

NAPLES, FLORIDA The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., Atlanta, will manage a 295-room golf resort, which is scheduled to open in late 2001. The hotel will be developed and owned by Host Marriott Corporation. The hotel will be located on the Greg Norman designed golf course Tiburón, which will serve as an extension of the existing Ritz-Carlton, Naples, located approximately 2 miles (3 km) from the hotel. “The combined facilities will offer a complete luxury resort package for guests at both hotels,” says Horst Schultz, president and COO of Ritz-Carlton.

All guestrooms will feature golf course views. Recreational options for guests include golf, tennis, a fitness center and an outdoor swimming pool. Dining facilities include The Terrace, The Lobby Lounge, a poolside bar serving more casual fare and a private dining room with seating for 68 people. Also available will be 15,000 sq. ft. (1,394 sq. m) of conference space and 7,800 sq. ft. (725 sq. m) of ballroom space, nine meeting rooms, one boardroom, and a business center to handle office services.

Choice Opens 4th Hotel in Dublin

The Clarion Hotel Dublin will become Silver Spring, Maryland-based Choice Hotels International’s fourth property in the city and Dublin’s second Clarion.

Designed by Scott Tallon Walker and being built by Pierce Construction, the 4-star, 154-room property is scheduled to open in October 2000 in Dublin’s financial district. The US$30-million hotel will offer 40 suites, a business center, large meetings facilities, lounges, bars, a brasserie restaurant, and an extensive health and fitness club.

“The opening of the Clarion Hotel Dublin forms part of our pan-European program to develop the Clarion brand in major European cities and gateways,” says Peter Cashman, COO, Choice Hotels Europe.

LIVINGSTONE (VICTORIA FALLS) ZAMBIA Sun International, Sandton, Africa, announce the development of The Falls at Victoria Falls Resort. The resort is situated in the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Wildlife Park, and will consist of two hotels. The 175-room, 5-star Royal Zambezi Resort will offer the ultimate in refined comfort and will provide a setting that is highly dramatic and serene. The hotel softly emerges from the lush riverine belt and almost flows down the banks of the mighty Zambezi River to the water’s edge. Its spacious guestrooms boast polished floors scattered with handmade rugs and cool, ivory-washed walls that are graced with black-and-white wildlife pencil sketches. The bathrooms, all with luxurious-sized showers, cleverly allow natural light to filter through a milk glass window. Private verandahs afford extensive views across the many islands. The hotel restaurant will seat 180 guests and is an astute combination of old-world savior-faire and contemporary sophistication.

The Zambezi will be a 4-star, 275-room hotel appealing primarily to conference delegates. The convention center is linked to the lobby of the hotel and is geared to cater to a wide variety of international functions and themed banquets.

The interior architectural design firm Wilson & Associates, headquartered in Dallas, has conjured all the romance of authentic Africa in their design of the hotels. The hotels are scheduled to open in early 2001.

ASIA/AUSTRALIA

Hyatt Regency, Hua Hin, Thailand; 202 rooms open early 2001; architect is Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo, and interior designer is Hirsch Bedner, Singapore; contact and management: Hyatt International.

Park Hyatt Saigon, Vietnam; 264 rooms open late 2001; contact and management: Hyatt International.

Four Points Hotel Port Macquarie, Australia; 98 rooms and 22 apartments to open in late 2001; owner and developer is Bayside Developments, Australia; contact Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

CARIBBEAN

Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; 152 guest-rooms; renovation and adding 24 suites and 24 guestrooms to be completed by mid-2001; contact The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

Embassy Suites Hotel Dorado de Mar, Puerto Rico; 91 condo-hotel units and 174 suites to open late 2000; contact Hilton Hotels Corp.

EUROPE

Palace Madeira, Madeira, Portugal; 327 rooms open mid-2001; contact TUI Group GmbH.

Royal Park Hotel, Kos, Greece; 231 rooms open early 2001; contact TUI Group GmbH.

Crowne Plaza (at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre), Birmingham, England; 241 rooms open early 2002 at a cost of US$37 million (£25 million); management and contact: Bass Hotels & Resorts.

Crowne Plaza, London (Blackfriars); 218-rooms open early 2001; management and contact: Bass Hotels & Resorts.

Color Hotel Skagen, Norway, 81 rooms and 24 apartments; renovating and adding 24 guestrooms and 24 apartments at a cost of US$2.5 million to be completed mid-2001; architect is Knud Erik Møer, Hjørring, Denmark; and the developer is Karl Erik Slynge, Trigon AS, Denmark; management and contact: Color Hotels.

CENTRAL/S. AMERICA

Meliá Confort Office Park, São Paulo, Brazil; 396 rooms open 2002; contact Sol Meliá.

Quality Suites, São Paulo, Brazil; 344 rooms open mid-2002 at a cost of US$21 million; architect is Luiz & Ione Fiuza, and the developer is Diagonal Ltda., Fortaleza; contact Choice Atlantica Hotels.

MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA

Le Méridien, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt; 280 rooms open late 2000; contact Forte Hotel Group.

Le Méridien Resort, El Ein El Sokhna, Egypt; 150 rooms open late 2000; contact Forte Hotel Group.

NORTH AMERICA

Hotel Sofitel, Chicago; 415 rooms open 2001 at a cost of US$100 million; interior designer is P.Y. Rochon, Paris, and Perkins & Will, Chicago; architect is Teng & Associates, Chicago, and JP Viguier, Paris; developer and contact: Accor SA.

Omni San Francisco Hotel, California; 362 rooms (renovation of former historic Financial Center Building) open early 2002 at a cost of US$100 million; architects are Frederick H. Meyer, and Patri Merker Architects, San Francisco; and the interior designer is Pamela Hughes; construction company is Webcor Builders; management and contact: Omni Hotels.

Courtyard by Marriott, Oakland, California; 162 rooms open late 2001/early 2002 at a cost of US$25 million; architects are Patri Merker, San Francisco, and Y.H. Lee, Oakland; management: Park Lane Hotels International; contact Marriott Lodging.

Marriott Residence Inn, Orlando (part of MarBella planned development), Florida; 211 suites to open early 2001 at a cost of US$12 million; general contractor is Roger Kennedy Construction Inc., Orlando, and the developer is JPC Development Corp., Maitland, Florida; management and contact: JHM Enterprises.

Hilton Garden Inn, 175 rooms to open in late 2001 at a cost of US$20 million; developers are Regent Partners, Atlanta, and Winston Hotels, Raleigh, North Carolina; contact Winston Hotels.

Hampton Inn, Carmel, Indiana; 103 rooms open late 2000; architect is Archeon, and the interior designer is Hospitality Contract Services; contractor is Kendall Construction; developer, management and contact: Schahet Hotels.