Illinois
Journal Hotels unveiled the Ambassador Chicago hotel. The property was built in 1926 and the new design draws inspiration from the city’s Golden Age. The hotel offers views of Lake Michigan and easy access to Michigan Avenue. The property features 285 guest rooms, a 24-hour fitness center, two restaurants and amenities curated by Chicago-based artisans and chefs. The reconcepted restaurant is projected to open in late fall. The hotel has 8,600 square feet of meeting and event space, including the 17th floor meeting room with a terrace and views of the city’s skyline.
Iowa
AJ Capital Partners acquired the Sheraton Iowa City, which will undergo a renovation to convert into a Graduate hotel by summer 2018. The nine-story, 234-room property is located on Iowa City’s Ped Mall near the University of Iowa and features an indoor public walkway connecting the hotel with direct access to the city’s Pedestrian Mall home to many restaurants, bars and retail shops. The hotel offers over 13,000 square feet of meeting and event space, a fitness center, an indoor pool and a restaurant. Plans for renovation include all guest rooms, the restaurant, function spaces and the lobby. In addition, Graduate Hotels will introduce a locally centric food and beverage program.
Missouri
The Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel unveiled a new restaurant and bar concept. Formerly Norah’s Crafted Food & Spirits, Eero’s specializes contemporary American cuisine with a Midwestern twist. The venue is named after Eero Saarinen, the early 20th-century Finnish-American architect whose work included the St. Louis’ Gateway Arch. The design of the restaurant incorporates nods to the city’s traditions, including the blues, regional breweries and the aerospace industry. The hotel features 388 guest rooms and more than 37,000 square feet of recently renovated meeting space.
The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis debuted its transformed guest rooms and suites. The hotel’s 299 rooms now feature muted color palettes, contemporary geometric shapes, furnishings, new linens in blue and gray with leather, and chrome accents. The new design extends to guest room corridors. The second-floor meeting rooms continue the modern design along with new ergonomic chairs and updated accents reflecting the same interiors seen in the hotel’s ballroom wing, which was renovated last year. Overall, the property boasts more than 30,000 square feet of meeting space, including the 12,750-square-foot ballroom and amphitheater with tiered desktop seating for 140.
Margaritaville Holdings and Driftwood Acquisitions & Development announced the rebranding of the Tan-Tar-A Resort in Central Missouri. The resort will join Margaritaville’s portfolio. The 500-room lakefront property is on 1,150 miles of shoreline on Lake of the Ozarks. Amenities include 27 holes of golf across two courses, a 103-slip marina, eight food and beverage venues, a spa and salon, a fitness center and numerous sports facilities, including tennis, basketball and beach volleyball courts. Indoor and outdoor pools are located throughout the property as well as a 20,000-square-foot indoor waterpark. The resort also offers more than 91,000 square feet of event space. www.margaritaville.com
Ohio
The Renaissance Toledo Downtown Hotel opened its doors in August. The 12-story hotel offers 241 guest rooms and restaurants Brim House, on the first floor with classic American cuisine and an open kitchen, and The Heights, a rooftop bar offering views of the Maumee River. The property has 18,000 square feet of meeting space that includes three boardrooms, five breakout rooms and the divisible 10,800-square-foot Mosaic Ballroom.