From poolside lounges to funky presidential suites, the new wave of so-called “hip hotels” presents groups with an eclectic array of indoor and outdoor options for meetings and events.
In some cases, the hotels are new incarnations of watering holes where Hollywood stars of yesteryear came to stay and play. Whether brand-new or reinvented, no two of these properties are alike, with each offering its own unique take on group space.
Despite its desert locale, water is a main theme at the W Scottsdale (480.970.2100; www.starwoodhotels.com), which opened last year and is one of several new urban-flavored additions to downtown Scottsdale, Ariz. Groups can take advantage of the hotel’s aquatic features, including the second-floor Wet Deck, which overlooks Camelback Mountain and features an infinity pool.
“We’ve got huge 20-foot lampshades that extend out over the pool,” says Leon Young, general manager of the W Scottsdale. “We can wrap those lampshades in company logos.”
To the right of Wet Deck lies Sunset Beach, replete with imported sand, day beds, 13 cabanas and a sunken bar, a setting that has led to South Beach, Miami-style themed parties. The Wet Deck can accommodate 1,800 people.
W Scottsdale is also home to a room called Focus, a 1,000-square-foot meeting space with glass walls. The walls can be closed for a private meeting or pulled open to lead to outdoor space. The resort is considering working with a local studio to host yoga classes in the space.
Shade is the resort’s Mediterranean-style open-air bar and is available for buyouts. After 9 p.m. a space called the Living Room transforms into a lounge replete with live DJs. Other spaces for groups include the Zen Garden and the hotel lobby, which features a soaring two-story art wall made of natural stone and reflective glass pieces to mimic the desert landscape and water elements.
Groups can also use the hotel’s Wow and Extreme Wow suites for receptions. The Extreme Wow suite measures in at 1,500 square feet and also has a 1,300-square-foot balcony and deck.
The hotel also gets creative in its traditional meeting space, including lounge and playroom settings that include balls and Legos.
“It’s very customizable,” Young says. “The idea behind our sensory setup is everybody does a bowl of mints, we try to work with planners to see what the essence is of what you are trying to do here. If you need to keep people engaged—light a fire under people—we have toy piece sets that can keep hands and minds working at the same time.”
Riviera Resort and Spa (760.327.8311; www.psriviera.com) in Palm Springs, Calif. which also opened last year, was originally built in the 1950s and retains its mid-century, Hollywood glam design. The hotel was featured in the 1963 film Palm Springs Weekend, where actress Connie Stevens hosted her rendezvous lunch by the pool with actor Robert Conrad. The resort’s poolside and presidential suite lured the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, and Elvis was a regular.
The hotel’s function space includes the 19,670-square-foot grand ballroom, which has an oval shape catering more toward entertainment than traditional meeting space. The ballroom in the hotel’s original incarnation hosted Hollywood notables like Telly Savalas, Raquel Welch, Bob Hope and Sonny and Cher.
The hotel is also host to the Starlight Lounge, a throwback to the historical Palm Springs Chi Chi Club nightclub, which opened in the 1930s and became a celebrity hot spot.
“Our Starlight Lounge kicks off the feel of the resort,” says Kevin Herbst, director of sales and marketing. The swank lounge features a 30-foot video wall behind the bar showcasing footage and digitally re-mastered cinematic history. DJs spin nightly and the bar can host groups for cocktail receptions.
Another hotel highlight is its poolside area, with 32-inch televisions in the cabanas, fire pits and a bikini bar.
“We’ve got probably one of the greatest pool scenes in town for poolside receptions and evening cocktail functions,” Herbst says.
Heading underground, the recently opened M Resort Spa and Casino (702.797.1000, www.themresort.com) in Henderson, Nev., near Las Vegas, lets groups use its Hostile Grape wine cellar for functions. The tagline for the 5,000-square-foot cellar, built beneath the spa level, is “Obey the grape.”
Groups can choose from 160 wines by the glass using pre-paid tasting cards with varying amounts on them that are good for their whole stay.
“The first buyout of hotel they bought out the Hostile Grape and did a dinner and wine tasting,” says Drew Varga, executive director of sales for the M Resort Spa and Casino.
M Resort also offers an extensive pool area for groups. Villagio del Sol spans two and a half acres and has three terraces that link to the resort’s 60,000 square feet of meeting space. The pool area also features a stage that can be used for dinners of up to 100 people. The whole pool area overlooks the Las Vegas Valley.
Also in Las Vegas, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (702.693.550; www.hardrockhotel.com) is offering a new meetings option called Higher Frequency based on the varying moods meeting planners and corporate clients most want to achieve. The hotel offers three sensory experiences—“Energized,” “Focused” and “Relaxed,” and within each program the menus, color schemes, aromas, fruit-infused waters and music can all be customized to match the tone.
For Energized, the resort offers citrus aromatherapy, mind teasers at each place setting, red color decor and upbeat classic rock playing at the start of the meeting. For Focused, there is Hard Rock memorabilia used for the decor and minimal color, while Relaxed offers chamomile or eucalyptus aromatherapy, blue colors and acoustic music.
New on the horizon, New Mexico’s 107-room Andaluz (505.242.9090; www.hotelandaluz.com) is slated to open in September in place of the La Posada de Albuquerque. The name Andaluz is derived from Andalucia, the Spanish region that inspired the design motif for the property when it was designed for Conrad Hilton, who honeymooned there with Zsa Zsa Gabor in the 1940s. Originally built with 160 rooms, it was tallest building in New Mexico at the time it opened in 1939 as a Hilton hotel.
In its new incarnation, the hotel’s decor will incorporate Moroccan and Spanish colonial influences and will feature a mezzanine-level cultural center honoring New Mexico’s museums, cultural institutions, performing arts groups and other cultural organizations. The hotel will have a restaurant with Mediterranean cuisine, a rooftop lounge, over 6,000 square feet of meeting and outdoor patio space, and a lobby bar featuring live weekly entertainment.
Within an area called the Living Room will be areas called casbahs, which groups can use as meeting space.
“They give a Mediterranean feel to the hotel,” says Kimberly Berry, director of sales and marketing for Andaluz, about the casbah spaces. “They offer a private area off the lobby. Each one will be done in a different texture, style and color. There will also be a library off the main lobby that groups can use as event space.”
Another venue for groups will be the hotel ballroom, originally created in 1939 and closed since the early 1960s. The ballroom will be styled to capture its original essence and also offer a view of the Albuquerque skyline.
The Ibiza Bar will be situated on the second floor with outdoor space including a fire-and-ice pit—fire in the middle surrounded by a water fountain. The bar will be able to host cocktail receptions overlooking the Sandia Mountains. Off that will be a special VIP room, with distractions like Wii and Guitar Hero.
One of the highlights of the hotel will be its second-level cultural center. The hotel is working with the city of Albuquerque’s cultural affairs division to present traveling exhibits from different pueblos around New Mexico, all featuring some aspect of Mexican, Native American or Spanish art. Groups will be able to hold cocktail receptions in the cultural center as well.
The new Hotel Frank (415.986.2000; www.personalityhotels.com) in San Francisco, which opened in March, was designed by Los Angeles-based firm Thomas Schoos Design, renowned for the interior designs of many top urban restaurants, hotels and nightclubs, including Los Angeles’ Huntley Hotel and its The Penthouse, Koi, O-Bar and Table 8 restaurants, and the Tao restaurants and nightclubs in New York City and Las Vegas.
Constructed in 1908, the building has functioned as a hotel for a century, going through several name changes, from The Fielding to The Raphael. It was renamed The Maxwell Hotel in 1997 and a decade later was purchased by Personality Hotels.
The main space for groups is the hotel’s Skyline Loft, done up in black, white and emerald green, including crocodile-patterned leather and white leather couches as well as vintage 1930s artwork.
The loft exudes 1940s Art Deco and spans 750 square feet inside as well as 550 square feet on its patio. Groups can use the loft for function space.
In Portland, Hotel deLuxe (503.219.2094; www.hoteldeluxeportland.com) is another theme hotel, recalling the Golden Age of Hollywood film from the 1930s to 1950s.
“We have black and white photos of movies from that period,” says Dina Nishioka, public relations director for the hotel.
The hotel, which opened in 2006, is located in an historic building from the early 1920s, replete with crystal chandeliers and a floor-to-ceiling video screen in the lobby with an electronic photograph that changes every hour.
It is home to the funky, retro Driftwood Room, a bar that has been around since the 1940s. The bar incorporated its Art Deco original architecture, combined with Art Moderne, and, according to Nishioka, fits well with the Hollywood film theme.
The property offers three event rooms: the 1,240-square-foot Screening Room with theater capabilities, the 336-square-foot Green Room and the intimate 273-square-foot Editing Room. All the design and detailing is based on the architectural and decorative arts of the 1920s through the 1940s.
Larger groups can use the outdoor rooftop, which can be tented or even used as an outdoor movie theater. Options include banquet dinners and cocktail receptions.
“The view is beautiful,” Nishioka says. “It’s the only place in Portland where you can get this view. You look east and see downtown Portland and west the hills of Portland.”
The Screening Room, off the lobby, is also popular with groups.
“We’ve had cocktails served in the lobby in that area,” says Nishioka. “Nike did a sleepover, slumber party and movies in the Screening Room. The attendees brought their pajamas and sleeping bags to watch movies and then slept in their rooms.” ?
