Site Scene

Alaska

• Anchorage’s newly completed Denaina Civic and Convention Center opened in September. The center offers 215,000 square feet of meeting and trade show space, including a ballroom, exhibit hall, executive boardroom, breakout rooms and an outdoor heated deck. The building, which increases civic and convention capacity in Anchorage by more than 300 percent, connects to the existing 45,000-square-foot William A. Egan Center and the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts via an enclosed skybridge and heated and covered walkways. For more information call 907.276.4118 or visit www.anchorageconventiondistrict.com.

• The Ramada Hotel and Conference Centre Edmonton completed the first stage of its $8 million renovation. The facelift of the 428-room hotel includes new decor in the guest rooms, lobby and conference facilities. Guest rooms now offer 37-inch flat-screen televisions. The conference facilities, including the main ballroom, which offers 10,000 square feet of convention space, received an upgrade. The next stage of the renovations will include exterior work and is expected to be finished next spring. For more information, call 780.454.5454 or visit www.ramada.com.

• The 297-room, Philippe Starck-designed SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills in Los Angeles is slated to open in November as part of The Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts brand. The seven-story hotel features 60 suites and a spa. Groups can use the hotel’s 30,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor function space and 12,000 square feet of dedicated meeting space. Featured among the various spaces is the Garden Room, an indoor ballroom for up to 400 guests, with a private outdoor patio. Also available is the sixth-floor rooftop pool, with views of Beverly Hills. There is wireless Internet throughout the hotel. For more information, call 310.247.0400 or visit www.slshotels.com.
  
  
• San Francisco’s The Villa Florence reopened in October with 183 remodeled guest rooms, a redesigned lobby, enhanced business facilities and the addition of an intimate wine bar. All 183 guest rooms, including 29 junior suites, were upgraded, each offering flat-screen televisions and complimentary wireless high-speed Internet. Villa Florence offers four meeting rooms, each with complimentary high-speed wireless Internet. For more information, call 415.397.7700 or visit www.villaflorence.com.

• The Lodge at Vail, A RockResort recently completed a $1.5 million renovation of its mountainside ballroom. The 6,000-square-foot renovated ballroom offers space for up to 300 people and overlooks Vail Mountain. The lodge also features 165 rooms and suites and the 11,000-square-foot RockResorts Spa, as well as new catering menus focusing on sustainable cuisine such as more organic and locally grown produce and sustainable seafood. For more information, call 970.476.5011 or visit www.rockresorts.com.

• The Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas is in the midst of an extensive $20-million renovation that includes remodeled guest rooms, 160,000 square feet of refurbished casino space with a revamped VIP slot area and updated convention facilities. The first phase of the project was recently completed with more than half of The Riviera’s guest rooms receiving an extensive remodel, including flat-screen televisions and wireless Internet connections. All 2,075 rooms of The Riviera’s total inventory are slated for completion in November. The convention center can be reconfigured for multiple meetings of small groups or large gatherings of up to 5,000 people. For more information, call 702.794.9561 or visit www.rivierahotel.com.

• The Santa Fe Convention Center recently opened, providing 40,000 square feet of event space, an 18,000-square-foot ballroom, 11 breakout rooms, outdoor meeting areas and a flexible floor plan. The center was designed to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification standards. The new center is divided into two buildings; the community building on the east end and the convention center on the west. On the ground floor of the community building are a gallery and a business center. There are four meeting rooms and an outdoor terrace for events upstairs. The building has Wi-Fi access. The larger building is the convention center, including the 18,000-square-foot Sweeney Ballroom. For more information, call 505.955.6218 or visit http://santafe.org.