A 5-Star Sofitel Is Planned For Cairns

By Staff -- HOTELS Magazine, 11/1/2003

A 5-Star Sofitel Is Planned For Cairns
DFW Hyatt Will Provide A New Experience To Travelers
Starwood Continues Expansion In Asia
Millennium Hotels and Resorts Ventures Into Egypt
Marriott's First China Hotel Will Open in 2004
Auberge To Operate Small Luxury Resort
New 949-Room Hotel Tower Is Planned For Caesars Palace

A 5-Star Sofitel Is Planned For Cairns
Accor S.A., Paris, is expanding its Sofitel brand in Australia with a new luxury apartment hotel in Palm Cove. When the Sofitel Triton Palace opens in late 2004, it will be the fifth Sofitel to open in Australia.

Accor has been awarded the operating contract for the hotel by Triton Palace Management Pty Ltd., who has agreed to acquire the management rights for the property from the Melbourne -based property development syndicate FTV Palm Cove Pty. Ltd.

The hotel will have 16 penthouse apartments, 76 one-bedroom apartments, nine two-bedroom apartments, 32 dual-keyed two-bedroom apartments and nine beachfront three-bedroom apartments. Most apartments will have water views. The interior design of each apartment will reflect the ambience of tropical north Queensland, including timber floors, ceiling fans and spacious balconies. Guests also will have the availability of full hotel services, a lagoon-style pool, conference center, fitness center, two restaurants, and a spa and swim-up bar. The architect of the project is Total Project Group, and the interior designer is Sabina Interior Consultants—both from Cairns.

DFW Hyatt Will Provide A New Experience To Travelers
When the DFW Grand Hyatt Hotel opens in early 2005 it will be unlike any other hotel in the United States by providing a fully integrated hotel and terminal experience. According to Eddie Abeyta, project designer and vice president of HKS, Dallas, the hotel’s architecture is a concept that also speaks of integration. “Sensitive to the terminal’s architectural expression, the hotel’s design reinforces the notion of simplicity and purity as established by the terminal’s aesthetic,” Abeyta says.

The 300-room property will be located on the property of the DFW International Airport, encompass more than 100,000 sq. ft. (9,290 sq. m) and be only 20 minutes from downtown Dallas and Fort Worth. Guest-rooms will offer a full range of amenities, and guests will be able to enjoy the hotel’s spa, fitness center and rooftop swimming pool. The hotel will feature a variety of eateries, restaurants and a bar/lounge where guests can relax after a long day of business/travel. In addition, a full-service business center is offered to business travelers.

Limestone flooring, medium cherry wood and taupe colored walls will be used to create a contemporary, upscale space by interior designer Wilson & Associates, Dallas. “While the interior is completely designed, we will not spec the materials until 2004, allowing the hotel to host the newest and latest materials,” says Connie Jackson, interior designer at Wilson & Associates.

Starwood Continues Expansion In Asia
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, White Plains, New York, and Amburaya Resorts Co. Ltd. have announced an agreement appointing Starwood to manage the Sheraton Pattaya Resort in Thailand. The resort is scheduled to open in late 2004 and is located in one of the country’s most attractive beach areas. Starwood has expanded its portfolio in Thailand significantly over the last year, and the Sheraton Pattaya Resort will be its eighth hotel in Thailand.

The resort will feature 156 guestrooms, including 54 spacious deluxe rooms and two elegantly appointed villas. Each deluxe room measures 700 sq. ft. (65 sq. m) and features a 129 sq. ft. (12 sq. m) balcony. Other facilities include three dining outlets, health club, kids club, extensive spa center with eight treatment rooms, business center and retail center. The meeting and banquet rooms will offer 4,575 sq. ft. (425 sq. m) of space, suitable for small and intimate meetings or group activities.

With the resort located strategically between Pattaya and Jomtien Beach, guests will have access to Thailand’s number one windsurfing spot and other water sport facilities. Other activities offered in Pattaya include island tours, wildlife and amusement parks, lush botanical gardens, and a variety of leisure attractions and entertainment.

Millennium Hotels And Resorts Ventures Into Egypt
Millennium Hotels and Resorts has announced its first venture in Egypt as part of an ongoing expansion in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Millennium signed a management contract with the Al Kharafi Group to manage the Coral Beach Diving Hotel, which is currently under construction and part of the exciting development of Port Ghalib. The hotel is scheduled to open in mid-2004.

“We are indeed pleased that our first entry into Egypt is part of a major leisure project of Port Ghalib, which has been created by the Al Kharafi Group with the vision and guidance of their Chairman Nassar Mohamed Al Kharafi. This diving hotel will no doubt complement our existing hotels and will set the scene for further expansion in the leisure market in the Middle East,” says Dr. John Wilson, CEO of Millennium Hotels and Resorts, London.

The Coral Beach Diving Hotel will be a specialist diving hotel and school and will provide 120 guestrooms and suites, two apartments, and a range of guest facilities including a diving pool, health club, swimming pool, restaurant, two bars and several shops.

Marriott's First China Hotel Will Open In 2004
Marriott International has reached an agreement with Sanya Jahwa Resort Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Shanghai Jahwa Group, to manage a Marriott resort in China. This will be Marriott’s first resort in China.

The 453-room Sanya Marriott Resort is expected to open in early 2004. It will be situated in the Yalong Bay National Resort, a master planned resort comprising approximately 7 sq. miles (18 sq. kilometers) and will have about 492 yd. (450 m) of beach frontage. Directly to the north of the resort is the 18-hole, Robert Trent Jones-designed Yalong Bay Golf Club. Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates Pte., Ltd. is the project’s architect, and Wilson & Associates is the interior design firm.

Guests will have access to three restaurants and a poolside grill. Its casual restaurant will offer a permanent grand buffet, and its Chinese restaurant will have five private dining rooms. The third restaurant will feature specialty cuisine. In addition, the resort will have a lobby lounge bar and a poolside bar.

Other amenities will include a health and fitness center, an outdoor swimming pool, two outdoor tennis courts, a children’s activity court, golf putting green and a spa featuring 15 treatment rooms, a gift shop and a business center. For conferences and social events, the resort will offer 13,455 sq. ft. (1,250 sq. m) of space.

Auberge To Operate Small Luxury Resort
Auberge Resorts, Mill Valley, California, has announced it will open The Inn at Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, South Carolina, which will feature 50 spacious guest cottages. Auberge Resorts is the developer and operator of a collection of exceptional hotels, resorts and private clubs, each with a distinctive personality that assures uniquely memorable guest experiences.

This small, luxury resort will be located on Palmetto Bluff, which is a 20,000-acre (8,094 ha) island under development by Crescent Resources, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based subsidiary of Duke Energy. Designed in the style of a traditional Carolina Lowcountry community, Palmetto Bluff will be anchored by a waterfront village, at the heart of which will be the inn and spa. “With its pristine setting and rich legacy, Palmetto Bluff is the perfect location for an Auberge Resorts-style small, luxury hotel,” says Mark Harmon, principal and CEO, Auberge Resorts. “We are looking forward to bringing our approach to simple luxury, fine cuisine and an exceptional spa experience to the East Coast.”

Designed by architects Hart/Howerton, the cottages will feature regional elements such as screened porches with porch swings, pine floors and fireplaces. Guests also will have access to several recreational opportunities such as boating, a golf club, saltwater and freshwater fishing, hiking, a canoe and kayak club and two restaurants, one of which will offer traditional Southern fare. The Spa at Palmetto Bluff will be modeled after a gracious, Southern-style manor house. It will feature eight treatment rooms, each with its own private veranda, soaking tub and breathtaking view and will draw upon ingredients and healing traditions indigenous to the area. The check-in area, meeting rooms, restaurants and bars will be located in the main house. Fraser Construction Co., Bluffton, South Carolina, will handle all of the construction.

New 949-Room Hotel Tower Is Planned For Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace continues to bring exciting new attractions to its Las Vegas property. Its latest addition will be a new 949-guestroom, 26-story luxury hotel tower. The US$289 million tower will be the centerpiece of a US$376 million expansion that includes a US$76 million addition to the resort’s convention and meeting facilities and US$11 million in related enhancements. Those costs exclude capitalized interest and pre-opening expenses.

“With annual hotel occupancy averaging more than 95% during the past five years and record cash room rates reported for six out of the last eight months, Caesars Palace clearly has room to grow,” says Mark Juliano, president of Caesars Palace.

The new, all-suite tower will be composed of 23 three-bay suites; six two-bay suites; 23 one-and-a-half bay suites; and 874 petite suites. The petite suites will feature separate sitting areas, with premium quality televisions linked to property-wide digital television systems and on-screen high-speed Internet access.

Also, the tower addition will include the resort’s fourth swimming pool, a VIP lounge, wedding chapels, new retail space, and new dining and restaurant facilities. The new meeting and convention space will measure 140,000 sq. ft. (13,000 sq. m) and the expansion will add 86,000 sq. ft. (8,000 sq. m) of meeting and convention space to the Palace tower, bringing the resort total to 241,000 sq. ft. (22,300 sq. m).

Caesars Palace is also in the process of doing several major improvements that will be completed during 2004. The existing registration area will be upgraded and significantly expanded to serve the new tower, along with the Palace’s 2,420 other guestrooms; the Roman Plaza will be updated; the Forum shops will grow by 175,000 sq. ft. (16,258 sq. m) and acclaimed Chef Bobby Flay will open his Mesa Grill concept at Caesars Palace.

When completed in 2005, the new 345-ft. (105-m) tall luxury tower will bring the total number of rooms available at Caesars Palace to more than 3,370.

Park Place Entertainment, the parent company of Caesars Palace and 28 other casino resorts around the world, plans to change its name to Caesars Entertainment, effective January 2004.