Fresh and Refreshed: New and Renovated Hotels Vying for Guests’ Attention

 

Marriott Syracuse Downtown

You know when you’ve stepped into a brand new or recently renovated property. The decor is contemporary, the lobby floors are gleaming, fixtures are polished and linens are crisp.
These days, there are plenty of reasons for a property to renovate or refurbish part, if not all, of its spaces. Of course, there’s the typical wear and tear for which every hotel is at risk, but that’s the least of a venue’s problems.
 , efficiency upgrades, outdated decor in need of modernization, evolving needs and wants of guests, and the necessity to keep pace with the surrounding competition are just some of the reasons hotels, resorts and other venues invest huge sums of money in renovations. A new hotel in town with updated accommodations poses a huge threat to a staple venue, especially considering groups are often looking for something new.
Old World decor and traditional fixtures will always have their place in the hotel market—not everyone is looking for a contemporary boutique—but even these spaces are expected to stay fresh and tech savvy. Crown molding and overstuffed arm chairs are great, but hotels still need to offer fast, reliable Wi-Fi in every room and flexible meeting space.

Lifestyle & Boutique Hotels

Kimpton Cardinal Hotel, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

  have a reputation to uphold; they’re the standard for what’s new in hospitality, and it seems there’s a new one popping up every time you turn around, offering the next big thing. But contemporary doesn’t mean brand new. In fact, the many new boutique hotels opening in old industrial buildings with rich history incorporate it in unique ways.

New

A perfect example of the historic-turned-boutique trend is Kimpton Cardinal Hotel, in  Located in the majestic R.J. Reynolds building—a beloved landmark and famed Art Deco prototype of the Empire State building—the upscale boutique hotel opened in April. It offers 174 guest rooms (including 15 suites), an expansive fitness center and an adult recreation room—complete with a two-lane bowling alley, basketball court, poker tables, pingpong and adult-size twisty slide—and more than 6,300 sq. ft. of meeting space.
Two boutique hotels arrived in   this spring, providing trendy options to stay, dine and meet. Ace Hotel New Orleans debuted March 14 in a historic 1928 Art Deco building with 234 guest rooms. The hotel’s signature restaurant is Josephine Estelle, the brainchild of Memphis James Beard Award finalists Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman. The hotel features a variety of event and meeting spaces, including 4,000-square-foot Barnett Hall and a 675-square-foot dining room. Marriott’s Moxy New Orleans Downtown/French Quarter Area followed shortly after, debuting in May as one of the first U.S. locations of the hip European hotel brand. It features 108 keyless-entry rooms in New Orleans’ central business district.

Quirk Hotel, a Destination Hotel, is a boutique, art-centric venue that opened in Richmond, Virginia, in September in an Italian Renaissance building built in 1916. The hotel offers a carefully curated, artistic experience that showcases distinctive original art throughout its 71 guest rooms, four suites, artisan restaurant, bar, rooftop terrace and conference rooms.
A stylish new hotel set in a renovated motel, V Palm Springs in California, managed by Filament Hospitality, opened after a bold $15 million renovation. Blending savvy and sophisticated style with a free-spirited attitude (each room comes with outdoor space and a hanging swing), the 140-room hotel delivers the ultimate modern resort experience. Amenities include swimming pools, hot tubs, a poolside bar, a cosmopolitan 70-seat restaurant and a fitness facility set against the backdrop of the San Jacinto Mountains.
Thompson Seattle, which celebrated its grand opening in June, is a 158-room downtown boutique property with 5,000 sq. ft. spanning six indoor and outdoor event venues and meeting spaces with catering available.
Aiming to bring contemporary flair over the New York border to New Jersey, The Asbury is a new ultra-hipster 110-room hotel located in Asbury Park. The lobby’s check-in desk doubles as a grab-and-go kitchen and the bottom floor lounge offers a rec room with pingpong, pinball machines, board games and communal tables.
Opened May 26, the hotel offers 4,800 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor meeting space, and classic music posters in guest rooms reflect Asbury Park’s rock-laden past. The Baronet is a 4,300-square-foot rooftop space on the sixth floor that transforms from an outdoor lounge by day to a cinema at night, showing classic and cult movies.

Coming Soon

The Hi-Lo Hotel, part of the Marriott Autograph Collection, debuts this summer in Portland, Oregon. The 120-room boutique hotel occupies the historic Oregon Pioneer Building and will retain Huber’s Cafe, the city’s oldest restaurant, with a dining room on the National Register of Historic Places. Modern organic furnishings will be featured throughout.

Luxury & Modern Hotels

As the boutique hotel trend expands, traditional hotel brands are tasked with keeping up by redefining their communal spaces, such as lobbies and lounges, and refreshing guest rooms and meeting spaces to appeal to a wide range of guests. Challenge accepted.

New

Hilton West Palm Beach opened in January and is connected to the Palm Beach County Convention Center via covered walkway. The immaculate hotel offers 24,000 sq. ft. of meeting space among its two ballrooms and six meeting rooms, plus two additional 2,400-square-foot lawn spaces for outdoor events. Two vibrant restaurants offer outdoor seating overlooking a resort-style infinity pool, complete with cabanas.
In March, Springhill Suites Mission Valley in San Diego opened minutes from San Diego Convention Center. It features 135 guest suites and a 700-square-foot state-of-the-art meeting room.

Renovated

Several properties in Henderson, Nevada, have been renovated to update or expand their properties. Holiday Inn Express & Suites Henderson underwent a $1.2 million renovation to the entire hotel to include the lobby and lounge, breakfast area, front desk, business center, 24-hour fitness center, guest rooms, bathrooms and pool. Nearby, Hilton Garden Inn, Henderson added a new American restaurant, Rachel’s Kitchen, and resurfaced the outdoor pool and deck. Railroad Pass Hotel & Casino updated its 120 guest rooms and bathrooms.

 is also seeing an influx of renovated hotels. Crowne Plaza Dulles Hotel in Herndon has undergone a major $7 million redesign and renovation this year to its lobby, club lounge, prefunction area, guest corridors and 327 guest rooms and suites. The fitness center was expanded and now features Crowne Plaza’s new modern design, which the brand describes as “timeless, relaxed silhouettes smartened up with sporty textures and tailored patterns.”
The Westin Tysons Corner in Falls Church, Virginia, recently unveiled a $10 million renovation that refreshed the hotel’s 405 guest rooms and 12 suites, transformed the lobby by adding more open space and communal tables, and updated the meeting spaces.
Formerly Hotel Syracuse, Marriott Syracuse Downtown in New York completed a $70 million restoration in June. The historic 1924 building features original restored fixtures such as chandeliers, and offers 261 guest rooms and 18 suites. The hotel also provides 43,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, comprised of three ballrooms and a conference center with eight meeting rooms.
The pressure to continuously update and improve is likely felt  more than anywhere else. With so many returning guests, enormous events and tough competition from surrounding venues, The Strip is no stranger to hard hats and yellow tape.