Florida
Driftwood Hospitality completed a conversion of the 520-room Hilton Tampa Downtown. The former Hotel Tampa has 30,000 square feet of function space, is located next to the Tampa Convention Center and has begun a $13 million renovation.
The 2,000-room Orlando World Center Marriott completed the first phase of its multimillion-dollar renovation. North Tower guest rooms and meeting spaces were updated, as were the pool deck, events lawn, the property’s Starbucks and the 14 Hall of Cities meeting rooms. The resort offers 450,000 square feet of function space.
North Carolina
The Grove Park Inn in the Blue Ridge Mountains outside Asheville, which opened July 12, 1913, is celebrating its centennial this year. The historic property features more than 55,000 square feet of function space and a 43,000-square-foot subterranean spa. The anniversary will be marked by special celebrations, packages and a $25 million renovation that will be completed next year, enhancing event space and 166 guest rooms in the Vanderbilt Wing.
Texas
The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio debuted a new restaurant last year, named NAO: New World Flavors, staffed by students and serving a fusion of Latin ingredients, as the campus offers a unique Latin Cuisine certificate program. Custom cooking classes can be arranged for small groups and meetings.
Plans are moving forward to construct a $90 million hotel to accompany the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas. The Irving City Council has plans for a full-service property with 20,000 square feet meeting space, 350 guest rooms and a skybridge connecting the hotel to the convention center. The city and the Mortenson Development company plan to announce the brand in June and complete the project in 2015.
Virginia
Potomac Shores Golf Course, the first public Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course in the Washington, D.C., area, is set to open this summer. Thirty miles from the capital, the 18-hole course is par-72 and will be accompanied by the opening of the 7,500-square-foot Potomac Shores Golf Clubhouse.
The first phase of the Washington, D.C. Silver Line Metrorail is set to open this year, serving Reston. The two-phase project, expected to finish in 2018, will eventually extend service by 23 miles to Washington Dulles International Airport, offering a “one seat ride” from downtown Washington.