Few developments breathe new life into a city’s downtown like an iconic hotel that has been carefully restored to its former glory. Despite the economy, there are plenty of prime examples of hotels going beyond renovation to reinvention, emerging as entirely new gathering places for visitors and locals alike.
W Washington D.C.
Opened in 1917 across the street from the White House, the Hotel Washington long held a place in the political and social life of the city; it was where Elvis met with President Nixon and asked to be a federal agent, where the presidential Thanksgiving turkey trotted on the rooftop before receiving its pardon, and where presidents Clinton and Reagan attended balls.
Reopened last summer after an extensive makeover as the W Washington D.C., the property retains its Beaux Arts architectural details while sporting signature elements of the W brand and a hip new design by Los Angeles-based designer Donna Wong.
In the public areas, guests will find vibrant colors and new features alongside restored plaster moldings, chandeliers and majestic arches. Many old and new elements are juxtaposed in the W living room, the brand’s twist on the traditional lobby, which includes a digital fireplace and a DJ spinning tunes in the evening.
"There is interplay here between history and fashion, classic and sleek, monumental and sublime," Wong says. "The new Obama administration brought a sense of excitement, elegance and youthful energy to Washington, D.C., and this hotel captures those qualities."
One of the W’s most distinctive features is its POV rooftop bar and terrace, affording panoramic views of the White House and many of the city’s famous monuments. Adjoining POV and also offering stellar views, the Altitude Ballroom hosts up to 220 people for a reception.
Also among the hotel’s 12,000 square feet of meeting space, the Great Room, which accommodates up to 700 people, features a sweeping staircase, plaster columns and other touches of Beaux Arts glamour. All the meeting rooms have been updated with tech features that include recessed screens, integrated audio systems and connections to the National Press Club’s satellite feed.
Each of the hotel’s 317 guest rooms, which include 30 suites, have been completely renovated and outfitted with such updated entertainment features as flat-screen LCD TVs and docking stations for MP3 players. New additions to the hotel include a Bliss Spa, a fitness center and J&G Steakhouse, a restaurant with a ceiling mural of cherry blossoms and arched windows overlooking the White House gardens.
The Roosevelt New Orleans
Shuttered after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, The Roosevelt New Orleans, formerly The Fairmont, emerged from a $145 million renovation earlier this year. Now part of Hilton’s Waldorf=Astoria Collection, the hotel’s new name is actually a return to the one it was known by from 1923 to 1965.
In more than a century of operation, The Roosevelt, which was the frequent stomping ground of legendary Louisiana Gov. Huey P. Long back in the 1930s, played an important role in the history of New Orleans. The property was the inspiration for Arthur Haley’s best-selling 1965 novel, Hotel, which spawned both a movie and TV series.
Accommodations at The Roosevelt include 505 guest rooms, 125 of them luxury suites named for celebrities who once visited the hotel. A new feature of the hotel is the Guerlain Spa, which offers 10 treatment rooms, hydrotherapy facilities and products from Guerlain Paris.
Important elements from the hotel’s past were preserved in the renovation, including the Sazerac Bar, where generations of guests have sipped Sazerac cocktails and Ramos Fizzes amid Art Deco murals.
The Blue Room, a supper club where Tony Bennett, Louis Armstrong and others were regular performers, has also reopened and is available for private events during certain hours.
Meeting space at The Roosevelt totals nearly 60,000 square feet, including three ballrooms and 23 smaller meeting rooms that span two floors of the hotel.
They range in size from the Huey P. Long Executive Boardroom up to the 20,124-square-foot Roosevelt Ballroom, which was updated to include air walls that convert the room into five smaller spaces.
"Our ballrooms represent the history and grandeur of New Orleans," says Mark Wilson, director of sales and marketing. "We want our guests to indulge themselves, while also envisioning these spaces as luxurious locations for their special events."
Tulsa’s Mayo Hotel
After sitting vacant for 30 years, the Mayo Hotel in downtown Tulsa, Okla., made a grand entrance in September following a $40 million renovation that restored the hotel, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, to its 1925 glory.
Once the tallest building in Oklahoma, the hotel hosted such notable 20th century visitors as John F. Kennedy, Bob Hope, Babe Ruth, Charles Lindberg and Mae West.
The property, which is located five blocks from the Tulsa Convention Center and just two blocks from the BOK Center arena, is now positioned as an upscale boutique hotel offering 102 suites, almost half of them with full kitchens.
Amenities include business and fitness centers and Trula Restaurant, which is headed by Executive Chef Neill Bailey, formerly with the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C.
No small part of the hotel renovation centered around the meeting space, including the restoration of the 8,000-square-foot, 16th-floor Crystal Ballroom and the Grand Hall, which accommodates up to 200 people in a magnificent setting with a grand staircase and stained glass ceiling.
More intimate spaces include the Mayo Museum, a gallery of historic photos and memorabilia from the hotel’s past, and The Penthouse, a rooftop venue with stained glass windows, dark woodwork and a terrace opening onto a balcony and roof garden.
