Alaska
Millennium Alaskan Hotel Anchorage is undergoing an $8.3 million renovation, including an overhaul of its 248 guest rooms. These refurbishments follow recent upgrades to the hotel’s lobby and meeting spaces as well as its outdoor Deck at Lake Hood, which overlooks Lake Spenard.
British Columbia
Element Vancouver Metrotown recently debuted with 169 rooms and suites in the growing Burnaby business district. There is complimentary breakfast and an evening wine reception as well as a free bikes-to-borrow program, fitness center and an indoor saline swimming pool. The hotel offers more than 6,000 square feet of meeting space with free Wi-Fi and an electric-vehicle charging station.
California
Loews Hotels & Resorts in March purchased the 158-room Mandarin Oriental San Francisco Hotel. Situated on the top 11 floors of San Francisco’s third-tallest office building, the hotel features over 5,000 square feet of meeting space and a new 8,000-square-foot spa and fitness center. www.loewshotels.com.
InterContinental Los Angeles Century City at Beverly Hills is undergoing a redesign and upgrade to all 363 guest rooms and suites, a multimillion-dollar project slated for completion in 2016. As part of the renovation, the hotel is also introducing four suites with an interconnecting option, allowing guests the ability to gather and socialize. A new spa and restaurant concept are also in the works. The property offers more than 16,000 square feet of overall function space.
Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles is beginning a multimillion-dollar refurbishment to its 683 guest rooms and suites. Opened in 1923 as the Host of the Coast, the hotel offers 70,000 square feet of flexible banquet and meeting space.
Plans are underway for a $500 million, 755-room expansion of the JW Marriott L.A. Live in Los Angeles, which when complete will offer a total of 1,756 rooms and over 200,000 square feet of function space. Construction is currently set to begin by early 2016, with the new hotel rooms and facilities scheduled to open in 2018. The new 38-story tower will be directly connected to the existing 878-room JW Marriott L.A. Live and 123-room Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles hotels by a bridge across Olympic Boulevard. A second-floor amenity deck will include a restaurant, bar/lounge, fitness center, executive lounge and pool area with cabanas.
The existing West Parking Garage Event Deck will be the site of additional meeting, conference, banquet and ballroom space, adding over 75,000 square feet of space. The new space would be directly linked to the existing approximately 100,000 square feet of function space north of the Event Deck.
Nevada
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board of directors agreed to purchase The Riviera Hotel & Casino, which has been in operation since 1955. The first phase of the $2.3 billion project will focus on the Riviera site and will include 750,000 square feet of new exhibit space and 187,500 square feet of supporting meeting space.
Phase two will focus on renovating the existing convention center and will include a 100,000-square-foot general session space and another 100,000 square feet of meeting space. The expansion and renovation will increase the facility from its current total footprint of 3.2 million square feet to nearly 5.7 million square feet. Once construction begins, the entire project is expected to take five to eight years to complete.
The Venue Las Vegas, a 38,430-square-foot special event facility in downtown Las Vegas, is making a spring debut. The facility’s plans include a main floor ballroom with a built-in stage, a first level lounge and bar that will be open to the public, a second level with three multifunctional event spaces and an outdoor patio, and a rooftop lounge and bar that overlooks downtown.
New Mexico
The Albuquerque Convention Center complex is putting the final touches on a $22 million facelift. The designs include a new exterior facade, the remodeling of the current ballroom, a new entertainment deck in the ballroom, and a remodel of the West Building lower level atrium. Last year the convention center added new retail space and an outdoor deck. The center offers more than 270,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space.
Oregon
Sunriver Resort, A Destination Hotel will complete a $50 million upgrade in May that will include a revamped and remodeled restaurant, lobby bar and tavern, as well as a new pool facility with a cafe and bar. The new restaurant will include a display kitchen, while the new pool area will feature private cabanas.