Sol Meliá Adds To Its Hotel Portfolio In Italy

By Staff -- HOTELS Magazine, 2/1/2002

The Valencia Group, Houston,

Texas, has commissioned 3D/International, San Antonio,

Texas, to design its newest luxury property, the Hotel Valencia Santana

Row, San Jose, California. The 7-story, 213-room boutique hotel will

be located at the heart of Santana Row, a new urban retail and residential

development of more than 40 acres (16 ha). Interior designer is Looney & Associates,

Dallas.

“The hotel is themed to resemble a grand Tuscan palazzo that

has weathered many years,” says 3D/International’s project

designer Ignacio Aliaga. Half of the guestrooms will

open onto an intimate courtyard graced with orange trees, seating areas

and an ornamental fountain. In the guestroom tower, each wing will utilize

a different design scheme; guests will not be aware that they are in

a 213-room hotel, rather than a cozy, European villa. Suites will feature

four-fixture baths, dining areas, outdoor terraces as well as balconies

affording views of the surrounding valley. Other amenities include a

swimming pool on the 5th floor, and a terrace on the upper floor that

will feature a wine bar with an open-pit, grotto-style fireplace. The

hotel is expected to open in late 2002.

Asia / Pacific

Sahid Gili Trawangan, Lombok, Indonesia; 50 rooms to

open late 2002; contact Sahid Group of Hotels.

Centerpoint Seoul, Korea; 121 rooms open 2002; developer is SGS Construction

Technology Resources Inc.; contact Century International Hotels.

Hilton Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 500 rooms to open early 2003; contact

Hilton International Hotels.

Hyatt Regency Chongqing, People’s Republic

of China, 317 rooms to open early 2003; contact Hyatt International

Hotels.

Caribbean

Meliá Hotel, Cienfuegos, Cuba; 300 rooms to open late 2002; contact

Sol Meliá SA.

Island Paradise Beach Village, Frigate Bay, St. Kitts, is adding 400

rooms to its 60 room resort; renovation to be completed late 2002; contact

Island Beach Village Resort.

Central/S. America

Quality Hotel & Suites Lakeside, Brasilia, Brazil; 360 rooms to

open late 2002 at a cost of US$25 million; contact Atlantica

Hotels International.

Hilton Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil, 500

rooms to open in 2002 (part of the Centro Empresarial Naciones Unidas

(CENU) complex; contact Hilton International Hotels.

Europe

Courtyard by Marriott, Paris (Charles de Gaulle Airport),

France; 300 rooms to open in 2003; developer is CGI (Commerz Grundbesitz

Investmentgesellschaft mbH; contact Marriott International.

DomAquaree (A Rezidor SAS Hotel), Berlin; 429 rooms to open in 2003;

contact Rezidor SAS Hotels.

Hotel Grande Bretagne, Athens, Greece; 341 rooms to open in early 2003

at a cost of US$58.7 million; contact Hyatt International Hotels.

Le Port Palace Hotel, Monte Carlo, Monaco; 50

rooms to open late 2002; contact Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Middle East

Holiday Inn Heliopolis, Cairo (Heliopolis), Egypt; 330

rooms to open in mid-2003; contact Six Continents Hotels plc.

North America

Flamenco Xcaret Resort, Playa del Carmen, Mexico; hotel

to open in mid-2002 (number of rooms undetermined);

contact Occidental-Allegro Hotels & Resorts.

Santa Ana Star Hotel and Casino, Albuquerque, New Mexico; adding 288

guestrooms to open mid-2002; management and contact: Tamaya Enterprises,

Albuquerque.

ClubHotel Riu Jalisco, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; 647 rooms to open in

mid-2002; contact Riu Hotels.

Las Vegas Hilton, Nevada; 3,000 rooms; (renovation of guestrooms, plus

corridors) to be completed late 2003; interior designer is JNR; contact

Hilton Hotels Corporation.

Holiday Inn Select, Farmington Hills, Michigan; 150 rooms to open in

2002; contact Six Continents Hotels plc.

Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, Fort Wayne,

Indiana; 83 rooms (plans to add 74 rooms in the future) to open in

mid-2002 at a cost of US$5-6 million; owner is Allen Hotel Partners

LLC, Memphis, Tennessee, and management is Dora Brothers Hospitality,

Fishers, Indiana; contact Six Continents Hotels plc.

Las Ventanas Sonoma, Kenwood, California; 98 rooms

to open in late 2003 at a cost of US$50 million; contact Olympus Hospitality

Group; Interior designer is Wilson & Associates, and architect

is HKS Inc.; developer: Hal Thannisch; contact Olympus Hospitality

Group.

Wingate Inn, Linthicum Heights, Maryland (near Baltimore/Washington

Airport); 129 rooms to open mid-2002 at a cost of US$5.2 million; construction

and contact is Konover Construction Corp.

Setai Residences & Resort, South Beach Miami, Florida; 90 rooms

to open late 2002 at a cost of US$120 million; interior designer is

Denniston International, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the architects

are Alayo Architects, New York and Shapiro & Associates, Miami;

developer and contact: The Setai Group, New York.

Sol Meliá Adds To Its Hotel

Portfolio In Italy

Sardinia, Italy Sol Meliá, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, has

signed management agreements to take over two hotels on the Italian

island of Sardinia. The 140-room Meliá Poltu Quatu is scheduled

to open in mid-2002 and is located north of Sardinia near Porto Cervo

and Costa Esmeralda. The hotel’s services include a restaurant,

bar-cafeteria, swimming pool, discotheque and meeting rooms for up

to 250 people.

Sol Meliá’s second property, Meliá Olbia

is in Olbia (Sassari) and opens in mid-2003. Guest facilities include

two restaurants, two bars, snack bar, swimming pool, shopping gallery

and 13,000 sq. ft. (1,200 sq.m) of meeting space in a convention center.

Guests also will have access to a 26,900-sq. ft. (2,500-sq.m)

spa, Olympic-size swimming pool, high performance tennis school and

full-size football pitch at the nearby Geovillage Resort.

The addition of the two luxury hotels, together

with other projects already opened or nearing completion, will make

a total of six hotels for Sol Meliá in Italy: Rome (2), Milan

(1), Verona (1), and Sardinia (2).

Iberostar Expands In Playa Paraiso, Mexico, Opens 3rd

Hotel

Playa Paraiso (Riviera Maya, Mexico) Spanish-based Iberostar Hotels & Resorts

is planning to open a third property in Playa Paraiso.

Less than a year ago it opened two properties here, the Iberostar Paraiso

del Mar and the Iberostar Paraiso Beach. “Our more than 75 years

of experience in tourism gives us complete confidence in the industry.

We are particularly bullish on the long-term success of our hotels in

the Riviera Maya area,” says

Manuel Borja, general manager of the Iberostar Paraiso

Resorts.

The Iberostar Paraiso Lindo will have 446 guestrooms, 62 junior suites,

and two presidential suites and will offer a conference center that

will accommodate up to 1,000 people (the first conference center in

the Riviera Maya area). The Iberostar Paraiso Lindo is located on the

beachfront and is adjacent to the existing resorts. The hotel is scheduled

to open in late 2002/early 2003.

In addition, the hotel’s design will include its own swimming

pool, activity area, wedding pavilion, theatre and discotheque. Dining

choices will include a buffet restaurant and six new á la carte

specialty restaurants in addition to the four existing

ones on Playa Paraiso.

Shangri-La Announces US$26 Million Renovation

Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia The Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, is undergoing a major renovation

at an estimated cost of US$26 million (RM100 million). The project will

be completed in two phases. The first phase of the renovation is scheduled

for completion by March 2002 and includes the hotel’s public areas,

F&B outlets

and Horizon Floor guestrooms. The remaining guest-rooms

will be upgraded during the second phase of renovation.

The new look of the Horizon Club rooms will incorporate a contemporary

design with modern furnishings. The rooms boast a luxurious bathroom

where guests can lounge in a spacious bathtub or shower behind a silk

screen. The number of floors on the Horizon Club will be increased to

five floors from the current three, bringing the total number of rooms

to 107.

Internationally known architect Adam D. Tihany

is creating a new look for the hotel’s existing Coffee Garden. The new restaurant will

encompass three casual yet sophisticated dining concepts when it reopens.

Tihany also is redesigning Restaurant Lafite, the hotel’s French

restaurant. In addition, the hotel will open a new Japanese

restaurant named Zipangu, which is being fashioned after the modern

Tokyo style brasserie.

Marco Island Marriott Announces US$43 Million Renovation

Marco

Island, Florida The 735-room Marco Island Marriott Resort and Golf Club

is launching an extensive US$43 million renovation that is scheduled

for completion in April 2003.

The enhancements include a 24,000-sq. ft. (2,230-sq.m)

Balinese health spa complete with 24 treatment rooms, outdoor seaside

treatment terraces with balconies, and a couples facility with private

showers and massage areas. The resort will also add a new 10,000-sq.

ft. (929-sq.m) ballroom with a beachside terrace overlooking the Gulf

of Mexico. The resort’s

two restaurants, Tropiks and Kurrents, will be completely

redesigned and reconfigured.

Also, all guestrooms and suites will be redesigned

to reflect the soothing and muted tones of the island’s environment,

offering both comfort and elegance. Bathrooms will also be enhanced

with new fixtures and flooring as well as larger countertops for a

more spacious, residential feel.