The multimillion-dollar renovation of the Hotel Highland at Biltmore was completed in February. The 120-room property was formerly under the Phoenix Inn Suites banner. The hotel offers a variety of meeting spaces, including a boardroom for up to 12. The Oregon Room can seat 30 in banquet style or classroom seating and 60 in theater seating. The Phoenix Room is set to accommodate 72 in a classroom setting or 110 in theater seating. The fourth floor of Hotel Highland is designated as an executive floor, accessible only by private key. The area will also have its own business center and will provide wired and wireless Internet access at no charge. Construction of an 80-unit condominium tower adjacent to the hotel is planned to begin when market conditions stabilize. For more information, call 602.956.5221 or visit www.hotelhighlandatbiltmore.com.
Hawaii
The Royal Hawaiian on Waikiki beach reopened in January after a multimillion-dollar renovation. The 1927-built hotel, known as the Pink Palace, was closed last June for renovations. Upgrades were made to all 529 guest rooms and the hotel added The Royal Beach Club and the restaurant Azure. For more information, call 808.923.7311 or visit www.royal-hawaiian.com.
Nevada
The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas is adding 75,000 square feet of meetings and convention space. As part of Hard Rock’s $750 million expansion and renovation, the total of 40 meeting rooms will offer built-in flat screens with projection capability and wireless Internet. Upon completion in spring, the 82,000 total square feet of flexible meeting space will include Muse and Artist Halls totaling over 25,000 square feet combined; The Joint, a new concert and events facility for up to 4,000 guests, and the Studio Collection in the new Paradise Tower, for breakout sessions and meetings. Additionally, Hard Rock is adding 860 new guest rooms, totaling 1,525 rooms and suites; including HRH, an all-suite 15-story tower and Paradise Tower, a 17-story tower adjacent to the new meeting space. Guest room blocks of up to 1,200 rooms per night will be available. All rooms include high-speed Internet, a dataport on the phone or wireless, and iPod connections. For more information, call 702.693.5507 or visit www.hardrockhotel.com/meetings.
Oregon
Portland’s Hotel Fifty recently completed a $7 million facelift. The 140-room facility is located next to the Willamette River, with a number of rooms featuring river views. The mid-century hotel has two private conference rooms that can accommodate meetings of up to 65 people, as well as a new bistro and bar, an 800-bottle wine cellar and the addition of works by local artists. For more information, call 503.221.0711 or visit www.hotelfifty.com.
