Few developments breathe new life into a city’s downtown core like a run-down hotel that has been carefully restored to its former glory. Despite the economy, there are plenty of prime examples of urban hotels going beyond renovation to reinvention, emerging as entirely new gathering places for visitors and locals alike.
The Chicago Way
When Sage Hospitality completed an 18-month, $128 million renovation of The Blackstone, A Renaissance Hotel last year, a piece of Chicago history was reborn. Originally opened in 1909 and then closed down in 1999, The Blackstone, a Beaux Arts-style architectural gem bordering Grant Park and the theater district, played a storied role in the 20th century political and social life of the city.
"Our presidential suite, which is where the 1920 presidential nominating committee selected Warren G. Harding, inspired the phrase ‘smoke-filled room,’" says Ryan Buck, director of sales. "When they emerged from the room, a reporter from the Associated Press saw a plume of smoke coming out the door and so described the suite that way."
Groups meeting at the hotel can also gather in The Barbershop, a meeting room that was once the site of the barbershop where Al Capone and Richard Nixon were among the patrons. The Blackstone’s Crystal Ballroom, a wedding cake of a venue with white and gold accents, is where a scene for the movie The Untouchables was filmed.
"Some groups have even started off their meeting with a clip from the movie, which has a team-building aspect to it," Buck says. "In general, we try to impart a sense of history to events here, usually with a customized letter to attendees that lets them know what once happened in the meeting room."
At the same time, The Blackstone, which offers 332 guest rooms and 12,000 square feet of meeting space, is not entirely steeped in the past. Work by contemporary artists adorns the hotel’s new Catalonian restaurant, Mercat a la Planxa, while the lobby is an eclectic mix of furniture styles and features chandeliers inspired by the beam in Chicago’s Millennium Park.
"The great thing is that we have a strong connectivity with the local community—it’s not just about presidents and movies," Buck says. "When we opened, we had people coming in and saying they were married here 50 years ago."
St. Louis Style
Earlier this year, the former Adam’s Mark Hotel emerged as the Hyatt Regency St. Louis Riverfront. One of the city’s premier convention hotels for nearly 30 years, the 910-room property has taken on a more contemporary vibe with enhancements that include two new meeting rooms on the 18th floor, including one opening onto a 1,900-square-foot terrace overlooking the Gateway Arch.
This summer the hotel wrapped up a $63 million renovation designed to meet Hyatt brand standards and also make the property more appealing to corporate groups, according to Brian Morris, director of sales and marketing.
"The hotel always had a good reputation, with meeting space that is recognized as the best in the region," he says. "But we knew significant money needed to be put into the building. We’re now doing well with corporate groups, which historically had not gone to this hotel."
The renovation included a makeover of all 83,000 square feet of meeting space as well as a redesign and technological upgrade to the guest rooms. Amenities also include a top-floor observation area and pool deck, a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and Brewhouse, a sports bar celebrating St. Louis sporting and brewing history, which includes a private room for events.
LEEDing Edge
The first hotel in Chicago to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, the new Hotel Felix emerged last spring on the site of the former Hotel Wacker, a single-room-occupancy property closed for redevelopment in 2007. While the Wacker’s historic 1926 facade has been preserved, the new hotel, located at the crossroads of the Gold Coast and River North neighborhoods, is a contemporary boutique hotel with design elements that include an airy, two-story lobby with white marble columns, water features and a sleek lounge.
The hotel’s eco-friendly features include in-room motion sensors to control heat and lighting and the use of organic and recycled products in everything from fabrics to artwork and wall coverings. Along with energy saving and recycling measures, Hotel Felix offers free valet parking to all guests arriving in hybrid vehicles.
The 225 guest rooms are outfitted with work stations, flat-screen TVs and iHome clock radios with docks for iPods and iPhones. Three meeting rooms, the largest accommodating up to 40 people, are equipped with ergonomic seating, wireless and high-speed Internet, and audiovisual capabilities.
Other amenities at Hotel Felix include a full-service spa, a fitness center, a business center and Elate, a restaurant serving contemporary American cuisine.
Made in Manhattan
When the Carlton Hotel emerged from a multimillion-dollar renovation in June, it became a serious contender for meetings business for the first time since opening as the Hotel Seville in 1904. Located on lower Madison Ave. in New York City, the Carlton added six new meeting rooms, ranging in size from 370 to 922 square feet, during the renovation, along with restoring its original grand ballroom with its Tiffany-style glass dome.
"We added the meeting space because we wanted to get into the meetings market, especially corporate," says Bonnie Sommerstein, director of sales. "While this year wasn’t the best time to be opening the new space, we are finding that meetings are a good chunk of our business—we’re the largest hotel with the largest amount of meeting space in the Murray Hill area."
While preserving the Beaux Arts architecture, designer David Rockwell updated the hotel’s 317 guest rooms with contemporary touches, including leather headboards, down comforters and marble bathrooms with lighted make-up mirrors. A dramatic lobby with suede walls features a cascading two-story waterfall revealing an oversized vintage black and white photograph of the hotel as it appeared in 1924.
Independently operated, the Carlton recently became a member of Preferred Hotels.
"We needed to establish an identity, and joining Preferred Hotels has aided our ability to attract meetings," Sommerstein says.
