Florida
The Hyatt House Naples/Fifth Avenue opened with 183 guest rooms. The new $31 million hotel, located along the Gordon River, offers a food market, grocery service and a full-service restaurant and bar. For boaters, there are dock slips and a marina concierge able to assist with rentals for boats, kayaks and paddleboards as well as arrange for other water-based activities. The hotel features 3,160 square feet of meeting space.
Georgia
InterContinental Hotels Group announced the opening of the Crowne Plaza Atlanta SW–Peachtree City. Less than an hour south of downtown Atlanta, the hotel offers over 60,000 square feet of meeting space, including 65 IACC-certified meeting rooms and a ballroom. The hotel offers the brand’s new “Always On” program, which provides complimentary Wi-Fi access with one-time sign-on for all guests, easy-access in-room charging outlets and secure, wireless printing that lets guests print from any of their devices from anywhere on the property. The hotel also features an Energy Essentials Wellness Station with healthy snacks and drinks. The property will undergo a full renovation of its 233 guest rooms and public spaces.
North Carolina
The Kimpton Cardinal Hotel will open in spring 2016 in Winston-Salem. Named for North Carolina’s state bird, The Cardinal will be the city’s first upscale boutique hotel and will have 174 guest rooms. Located in the R.J. Reynolds building, an Art Deco prototype of the Empire State building, the hotel will feature gold leaf, marble and burnished brass. There will be over 6,300 square feet of meeting space, a restaurant and bar, and a Rec Room offering games and activities like bowling, basketball, poker and an adult-sized slide. The Rec Room will be open to all guests or available for teambuilding and private events.
Texas
Austin’s AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center unveiled the remodel of its 297 guest rooms and suites. After four months of renovation, the rooms now feature a more modern look with technology upgrades. The rooms have LED lighting fixtures, in-room iPads and smart guest-detecting thermostats, and guests have the option to participate in the property’s Green Rooms Sustainability Program. In mid-2017, the adjacent Robert B. Rowling Hall will open and feature a 15,000-square-foot ballroom and 5,000-square-foot prefunction space. The venue currently offers 40,000 square feet of meeting space, including 37 meeting rooms, a 300-seat tiered amphitheater and an 800-person capacity ballroom that can be divided into multiple breakout rooms.
The JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa expanded its River Bluff Water Experience from six acres to nine acres with new meeting and event space, a new swimming pool, two tower body slides and a sandy beach area. The expansion includes a 23,000-square-foot indoor and outdoor event space with a newly built 5,000-square-foot River Bend Pavilion that has a 500-person capacity. There is also an 18,000-square-foot event lawn that can accommodate up to 1,200 attendees, a covered deck and a stage that is detached from the pavilion and offers views of the Hill Country landscape. The 1,000-room resort is LEED-certified and continues its environmental, energy conservation and waste reduction initiatives with the new space. Overall, the resort offers 288,000 square feet of meeting and convention space and is home to TPC San Antonio, a 36-hole PGA TOUR golf facility.