Illinois
- The 564-room Sheraton Bloomington was recently reflagged the DoubleTree by Hilton Bloomington Minneapolis South. Following the reflagging, the hotel launched a $12.5 million renovation of guest rooms, public spaces and meeting rooms. The renovation is expected to be finished by mid-year 2012. The hotel offers 38 meeting rooms, totaling 70,000 square feet of space. For more information, call 952.835.7800 or visit www.doubletreehotelbloomington.com.
- Kimpton Hotel and Resorts’ Monaco Chicago recently unveiled a $3 million guest room refresh. Guest rooms offer 37-inch HD televisions, wireless high-speed Internet access and Jacuzzi spa tubs in suites. For more information, call 312.960.8500 or visit www.monaco-chicago.com.
Michigan
- The Abbey Resort on Lake Geneva is renovating each of its 334 guest rooms and suites, including the addition of in-room high-speed wireless Internet. Additional enhancements include the new Harbor Patio, which will serve as the base for the resort’s ice-skating rink in winter. The 5,500-square-foot West Shore Pavilion was also upgraded. The resort offers more than 40,000 square feet of meeting space. For more information, call 262.275.9000 or visit www.theabbeyresort.com.
Missouri
- Kansas City recently began construction on three new hotel projects: The Ambassador Hotel KC, Courtyard at Briarcliff and Holiday Inn Express & Suites. The upscale 43-key Ambassador Hotel KC will be the adaptive reuse of the Gate City National Bank building inside the downtown loop. The 123-key Courtyard at Briarcliff will sit atop a new 16,000-square-foot conference center. The 109-room Holiday Inn Express will be the latest addition to the airport market. All three hotels are scheduled to be open by July 2012. For more information, call Key Construction at 816.221.7171 or visit www.keyconstruction.com.
- The Hyatt Regency in Kansas City will fly the Sheraton flag and undergo a $13 million renovation to the 733-room property. Sheraton Crown Center is scheduled to make its debut Jan. 1, 2012. All guest rooms will be equipped with high-speed Internet. The hotel will also feature more than 95,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. For more information, call 816.421.1234 or visit www.crowncenter.com.
South Dakota
- The 120-room Hilton Garden Inn Rapid City opened in July. The hotel features five meeting rooms offering 5,646 square feet of space. For more information, call 605.791.9000 or visit http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com.