Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center
By Joe Brancatelli
HOTEL HOT SHEET
Recession Be Damned, The New Hotels Keep Coming: With occupancy plummeting and room rates falling precipitously, no recovery in sight and a record number of properties in or nearing default, logic would lead you to believe that the hotel industry would stop opening locations. But that’s not how it works since projects put into the pipeline years ago keep gushing out. So get out your scorecard and make note of the newbies.
- From Marriott, the chain’s first Courtyard in the center of Rome. The 162-room property is in the Monte Mario district not far from the Vatican.
- From Starwood, the 503-room Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan and a 202-room Le Méridien in Philadelphia. And a 323-room Marriott-branded property in the New World entertainment complex across from Terminal 3 of Manila’s international airport.
- From Hyatt, a 148-room Hyatt Place in The Forum, a mixed-use development in Fort Myers, Florida.
- From InterContinental, a 100-room Hotel Indigo in Asheville, North Carolina; and a 95-room Candlewood Suites in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
- Hilton has converted and expanded the Terraces Hotel at Lake Taupo, New Zealand. The property is a three-hour drive from Auckland. Hilton has also put its flag on the Lexington Downtown Hotel. The 267-room property adjacent to the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, and is undergoing a $13 million renovation.
- Finally, please note the reopening of the Mayo Hotel in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Mayo hasn’t operated as a hotel in more than 30 years and now it features 102 hotel rooms and 76 lofts.
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Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a non-commercial Web site for business travelers. Copyright 2009 by Joe Brancatelli. Licensed by contract for Orbitz use.
