Mississippi
At press time, Gulfport’s Island View Casino Resort was scheduled to open its new Beach Tower May 1. The tower’s features include new guest rooms, a spa, several dining options and a bar with Gulf views.
North Carolina
21c Museum Hotels recently opened the 21c Durham as an adaptive reuse of the 1937-era Hill Building. Also on-property is a 125-room boutique hotel. 21c Durham offers a variety of guest room types featuring original terrazzo flooring and abundant natural light. The property offers 10,500 square feet of art exhibition space, and its museum space doubles as meeting and event space that can accommodate a wide variety of events, from board retreats and cocktail parties to a reception-style wedding for 350. The Main Gallery, located in the old banking hall, offers a dramatic background with original wood paneling, terrazzo flooring, velvet drapery and LED globe chandeliers. The Vault, located in the historic bank vault on the lower level, offers a unique experience featuring lounge seating, a site-specific art commission, and a historic vault door and safety deposit boxes. The 17-story building was designed in 1937 by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, architects famous for the Empire State Building.
South Carolina
Omni Hilton Head Oceanfront Resort recently unveiled 323 restyled studio suites, including 20 oceanfront suites, to complete the resort’s extensive upgrade. The 530-square-foot suites were the final piece of the resort’s $17 million rejuvenation. Previously, the property revitalized the front entrance, lobby, meeting facilities, fitness center and Ocean Tides Spa. Outdoor areas were transformed with updates to the upper and lower courtyards, beach and pool access, the addition of another fire pit near the deck of its HH Prime steakhouse, and the revamped Buoy Bar. The hotel also revealed its new pool complex containing a renovated adult pool, Kid’s Splash Zone with a splash pad, and new 3,600-square-foot family pool.
Texas
The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center recently completed an all-encompassing $75 million-plus expansion and renovation. The property’s 20-month renovation and expansion reimagined virtually every aspect of the property, including the replacement of 206 lodge-style rooms with Fairway Pines III (a new wing of 184 guest rooms and suites), the renovation of 222 existing guest rooms and suites in the Fairway Pines I and II guest wings, and a new 3,036-square-foot “Living Room” connecting the three guest room wings, ideal for informal gatherings. The upgrade also includes a revamped 60,000 square feet of meeting and event facilities, including the ballroom, boardrooms, breakout space, lobby and prefunction areas. Other new features include a new lazy river winding 1,005 feet through the surrounding forest.
The Arbor Hotel and Conference Center in Lubbock is on track to open this spring with 3,000 square feet of meeting space, a hotel bar, an outdoor hot tub and fire pits.