Alabama
Redstone Hospitality announced plans to construct a 125-room Marriott TownPlace Suites hotel in the mixed-use Redstone Gateway development in Montgomery. The 4.6-million-square-foot Redstone project is being built out in phases over the next 20 years, and plans to break ground on the hotel in 2014. The Marriott will offer meeting spaces and is designed to be LEED certified.
Florida
The Westin Orlando Universal Boulevard broke ground on a new 5,576-square-foot meetings and events center that is slated to open in February 2014. The hotel will have a total of more than 13,000 square feet of function space.
The 219-room Fort Lauderdale Marriott Pompano Beach Oceanfront is now open, with seven meeting rooms and almost 4,000 square feet of function space.
Marco Island Marriott debuted its new penthouse suite and unveiled a $1.5 million upgrade. The space includes a 3,000-square-foot terrace that can be booked for group events.
Georgia
Kimpton’s boutique Mulberry Inn is slated to open in 2014 in Savannah. The 145-room property is housed on a historic site, in a building that was previously used as a stable, cotton warehouse and Coca-Cola bottling plant before being converted to a hotel in 1982.
North Carolina
Asheville’s 514-room Grove Park Inn celebrated its centennial with the completion of a $25 million renovation. Updates include the new EDISON cocktail terrace, serving craft cocktails and named after Thomas Edison, a frequent visitor to the resort, and renovations of the Great Hall’s original 36-foot-wide fireplaces and artwork. The Inn offers 55,000 square feet of function space and a 43,000-square-foot subterranean spa.
The Sheraton Charlotte Hotel is now open in uptown, within walking distance of the Charlotte Convention Center. The property offers 304 guest rooms and conference facilities that include 35 meeting rooms, five ballrooms and 16,000 square feet of prefunction space.
Starwood’s Le Meredien Charlotte is set to open in January 2014 with 306 guest rooms as part of a $20 million redevelopment of the former Blake Hotel.
Texas
The new Houston Food Park is open daily for lunch and for special events at night. The park was created to accommodate the city’s booming food truck scene despite restrictive downtown ordinances. The park can accommodate up to nine trucks at a time.
The Lancaster Hotel Houston, in the city’s Theater District, completed an extensive renovation that updated its lobby, guest rooms and meeting spaces. The historic hotel can accommodate groups of up to 75.