Site Scene

Connecticut

• The Hilton Garden Inn Mystic/Groton recently opened with 124 guest rooms and four suites, each featuring a flat-screen television and complimentary wired and Wi-Fi Internet access. There is also an outdoor patio, a workout facility, a lounge area with a fireplace and large-screen television, and three meeting rooms offering 1,741 square feet of meeting space. For more information, call 860.445.6800 or visit http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com.

• The BWI Airport Marriott in Baltimore recently completed a $1.4 million renovation of its meeting and banquet space. The hotel offers a total of 18,800 square feet of space with 19 meeting rooms. The largest space is the Grand Ballroom at 10,020 square feet with a total capacity of 1,200 people, the biggest ballroom in Anne Arundel County. For more information, call 410.859.8300 or visit www.bwiairportmarriott.com .

• The Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel opened in February. The $165 million hotel represents one part of the development of the South Boston Waterfront’s Seaport District. The 21-story building offers 471 guest rooms, including 21 suites. It also features over 21,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, with a 10,700-square-foot ballroom and a 4,400-square-foot junior ballroom that are located on the same floor. Guest rooms feature flat-panel televisions, and wired and wireless Internet is available throughout the property. The hotel is equipped to host video conferences and Internet-based presentations. For more information, call 617.338.4111 or visit www.renaissanceboston.com.

• Dolce Basking Ridge, in Basking Ridge, recently began the first phase of an $8 million redesign project, slated for completion in May. As part of the first phase, the hotel is updating all 171 guest rooms with soft goods and 32-inch flat-screen televisions. Phase two and three will include improvements to public areas, meeting space, food and beverage outlets, the fitness center, and courtyard. Plans are under way to create an open-air lobby with seating areas and a new coffee and wine bar. The hotel offers 20,000 square feet of meeting space, including 25 meeting and breakout rooms, a 4,700-square-foot ballroom and an amphitheater. For more information, call 800.953.3007 or visit www.baskingridge.dolce.com.

• Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in March reopened New York’s historic The Plaza following a $400 million, two-year, full property renovation. Upgrades were made to guest rooms, restaurants and meeting spaces. The Plaza offers 282 guest rooms and suites, each including white glove butler service. Two new public spaces include the lobby’s Champagne Bar and the Rose Club, overlooking the lobby. The Plaza’s landmark Grand Ballroom offers 21,000 square feet of meeting space and now features seven new meeting rooms. One feature recently reconstructed was the 1,800-square-foot stained-glass ceiling in the hotel’s Palm Court restaurant, the first showing of the art work in more than 60 years. In the works is the Plaza Retail Collection, slated to open in late spring with high-end boutiques and shops, as well as a spa and fitness center. For more information, call 212.759.3000 or visit www.fairmont.com/theplaza.

• The Philadelphia Marriott Downtown converted its Franklin Hall exhibit area into a space that can be divided into 13 separate breakout rooms. The hotel also started a lobby renovation, scheduled for completion in April. Also on the books, the hotel will complete a guest room and suite renovation to its 1,401 rooms in 2009 that is expected to cost $45 million to $65 million. On its 23 floors, the hotel offers 1,332 guest rooms and 76 suites, as well as 52 meeting rooms and a total of 92,000 square feet of meeting space. The property is connected to the Pennsylvania Convention Center. For more information, call 215.625.2900 or visit www.marriott.com.
  
  
• Embassy Suites Philadelphia–Center City recently began a $10.2 million renovation of its guest rooms, as well as a new fitness center, lobby upgrades, and a new business center. The project is scheduled to be finished by mid-April. The hotel offers 288 two-room suites. For more information, call 215.561.1776 or visit http://embassysuites1.hilton.com.