The Hotel on boulevard de Waterloo in Brussels unveiled its first new guest room today. Spanish architecture agency GCA came up with the concept, which epitomizes the ultimate hotel experience for the modern, cosmopolitan traveler. The stylish, elegant room features the ideal mix of comfort and technology. The room provides an exciting first glimpse into the spectacular, full-scale renovation to come. The Hotel will be positioned in the international and exclusive premium segment.

Extensive renovations

Swedish hotel property group Pandox AB, which purchased the former Brussels Hilton on boulevard de Waterloo in Brussels in September 2010, renamed the property ”The Hotel“ when it took over management responsibilities on February 1, 2011. The owners announced their extensive renovation plans shortly after acquiring the property. They started by giving the façade a facelift, which will be completed this spring, followed by the first guest room renovations in November 2011, designed by Spanish architecture agency ‘GCA Arquitectes Associats’. The first 20 rooms will be ready to welcome guests in April, with 100 more to follow by September. The remaining 200 rooms and suites will be completed in phases, with all 424 rooms ready by spring 2013.

 The guest rooms – inspirational, elegant and innovative

The most striking feature of the new rooms is the revolutionary new layout. Gone are the obligatory desk, corner armchair, curtains, and traditional floor and table lamps. Today’s modern business traveler carries a smartphone or tablet PC, so there’s no point in cluttering up the room with a big, bulky desk. A leather sofa runs across the entire width of the room, in front of the window, accented with a practical oval-shaped table. The space has been carefully optimized to provide the visitor with maximum utility, whether it’s to work, relax or simply enjoy a great view of Brussels. Traditional curtains have been replaced with sliding semi-transparent panels that can filter in light if so desired. The room can be electrically darkened. Another striking detail is that the bathroom is also part of the open-plan space. This, naturally, contributes to the overall feeling of spaciousness, but also allows the visitor to admire the fantastic views, even from the shower. The design is inspirational, elegant, stylish and innovative.

 For the tech savvy, modern, cosmopolitan guest

Technology has become increasingly important to the modern business traveler. At The Hotel, guests can use the Mediahub™ to connect their electronic devices (smartphone, tablet PC, digital camera, video camera, iPod, iPhone, game console, etc.) to their in-room television, providing instant access to their own music, videos, photos and games directly through the TV, which acts as their own personal entertainment center. Smartphones and tablet PCs equipped with stereo bluetooth can stream audio wirelessly through the TV.

Smartphone-carrying guests can also use their device to unlock their room door as well as to check in and out. No need to wait in long lines at reception or bother with a keycard.

A range of quality apps is being developed to help maximize guests’ time, providing easy access to information about the city, The Hotel, the services and facilities available, and their meeting.

 With a view of Brussels

The renovations started off with the top floor. Next in line for refurbishment, beginning on February 1, are the meeting rooms on the 25^th, 26^th and 27^th floors, to be completed in September 2012. The executive lounge will be on the 24^th floor. The remodeled design also includes a state-of-the-art 250m² fitness center on the 23^rd floor complete with all the latest fitness equipment, a large, comfortable sauna and, of course, a phenomenal view of Brussels.

 An eco-friendly, energy-efficient approach

Given the extent of the renovations, it was the opportunity to replace the heat, water, gas and electrical installations with more environmentally-friendly solutions. The Hotel will be putting in a cogeneration system which will recover waste heat and re-use it to supply most of the hotel’s heating needs. All incandescent lamps will be replaced with LED lighting, and the temperature in unoccupied rooms will be centrally controlled. As a result of all these modifications, CO₂ emissions will be reduced by 20%, a savings of 50% on total energy consumption compared to the previous management.

 Added value for the chic boulevard de Waterloo

The location of The Hotel is and remains one of its greatest assets. ”We really wanted The Hotel to blend in seamlessly with its surroundings. As it so happens, The Hotel shares boulevard de Waterloo with nearly all of the top international luxury lifestyle brands. With our premium positioning and elegant international image, we have no doubt about fitting in. We’re expecting the restaurant, bar and lobby lounge on the ground floor to bring a certain added value to the boulevard de Waterloo“, commented Aldert Schaaphok, Vice President, Pandox AB.

Last on the renovation agenda is the ground floor, to be completed in the autumn of 2013. The hotel will remain open throughout the renovations.

Iberostar Hotels & Resorts has officially reopened the historic Mencey Hotel — which originally opened its doors in 1950 — in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands following €25 million (US$31.7 million) in improvements.

The hotel, which has entertained famous visitors ranging from the Spanish royal family to Elizabeth Taylor, is located in an exclusive residential area of Santa Cruz, directly in front of the famed Garcia Sanabria botanical gardens.

Facilities and amenities include a restored lobby; 261 fully refurbished rooms and 52 suites, the restaurant Los Menceyes, the Bar Iballa and 10 multi-functional meeting and event spaces.

New to the hotel is a spa with more than 6,500 sq ft (604 sq m) of treatment rooms, water ritual pools and relaxation areas. The property’s gardens have been expanded to nearly 22,000 sq ft (2,044 sq m) with an outdoor pool, bar and solarium, and the Casa del Duque — an individual estate located within the hotel grounds — has been acquired and transformed into an event space featuring direct access to the botanical gardens.

The hotel also has been added to Iberostar’s Grand Collection, becoming the collection’s second city hotel following the Iberostar Grand Hotel Budapest.

The Shelborne South Beach in Miami, originally designed in 1940 by renowned modernist Igor Polevitzky, recently completed a two-year, US$20 million renovation.

Miami-based design firm ADD Inc. aimed to give the vice and virtues of the 1940s and 1950s a modern interpretation in the hotel, which is owned by Keith Menin of Menin Hotels.

Guests are greeted with an interpretation of a floating porte cochere —originally designed by Morris Lapidus, the architect known for Miami Modern hotels who added an extension to The Shelborne in the 1950s — and curved glass entry with a panoramic view of the lobby. The lobby design focuses on tuxedo tones with prominent white walls and black accent pieces. Maria Theresa crystal chandeliers glow in soft amber while walls dressed with flowing drapery compliment white terrazzo floors. Framed with white lacquered material, the reception desk contains rows of sparkling acrylic orbs illuminated from behind and a concierge desk wrapped in black stingray skin. Two black Marquina Negro marble columns with channels of white veining counteract the starkness of the reception desk.

The Shelborne’s lobby lounge features black terrazzo, black tufted lounges, a pool table and photo wall. The lounge walls are finished with black mirrors illuminated by glass sconces. 

Refurbished guestrooms showcase black and gray wall-to-wall carpet and Art Deco-styled accents. A striped backdrop of gray and white frame the beds with tufted white headboards and bright, decorative pillows. Bathrooms feature custom wood and marble vanities and polished white marble flooring.

A walkway with white exterior walls and ceilings covered in live vines, banquettes with colorful pillows and glass guardrails leads guests to the new infinity pool. Poolside cabanas with private showers and a beach garden surround the pool area.

F&B outlets include Bar Tanaka by Chef Hiroyuki “Zama” Tanaka in addition to Vesper American Brasserie and the poolside taco stand Lucy’s Cantina Royale. Crème Design created the interiors for the three restaurants.

A new ballroom features a custom-designed gray diamond carpet with floral motifs, Carrera marble walls and bars, white sheer drapery and linear crystal chandeliers.

San Francisco’s Hotel Diva will soon take the wraps off a new look. The updated 116-key Personality Hotel, in San Francisco’s Union Square, will offer interiors inspired by “a theatrical and fashionable evening out,” its operators say.

The hotel’s $2 million overhaul is being led by Edmonds + Lee Architects. The boutique’s remodeled guest rooms, common areas and exterior will be finished in November, while its new Perrier Lounge set to open in January.

The new-look guest rooms will be clad in three shades of gray with deep plum accents, furnishings by ASTI, abstract geometrical carpeting by Masland, Pablo Pardo lighting, rolled-steel headboards, Harry Bertoia chairs and window shades printed with images of a woman’s form. These custom shades will be visible from the hotel’s exterior, which was painted charcoal grey with white windows to resemble a tuxedo.

Updates to the bathrooms will include white Lucite wall patterns by AMbath, floor tile resembling Brazilian hardwood and shower curtains by Valley Forge Fabrics. The hotel lobby will also be updated as an open-air lounge, and the new Perrier Lounge will include custom glass bottle light fixtures, seating/meeting space and a Perrier vending machine.

Personality Hotels also includes the Kensington Park Hotel, Hotel Union Square and Steinhart Hotel in San Francisco, and the Mariposa Inn & Suites in Monterey.

Thompson Hotels announced the addition of Hotel Victor in Miami’s South Beach to its portfolio. Thompson Hotels will rebrand the historic hotel, as the Thompson Ocean Drive through a multi-million dollar renovation to both guest rooms and public spaces, to be completed in early 2012. Thompson Hotels management is effective immediately, introducing the group’s renowned sophistication and service and maintaining the landmark’s legacy as the most desirable hotel in South Beach.

Hotel Victor was originally opened in 1936, and underwent a major restoration by acclaimed designer, Jacques Garcia in 2004. The celebrated hotel located in the heart of Miami Beach’s famed Art Deco District features: 90 stylish guestrooms, most with ocean views; a stunning infinity pool; a 6,000 square foot (560 square metres) Spa V; the fine Northern Italian BICE Ristorante and BICE Café; three lounges and bars.

Aloft San Francisco Airport, now the Clarion Hotel San Francisco Airport, will undergo a significant renovation before opening as an Aloft in the summer of 2012.  The 253-room hotel is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts and this investment demonstrates Starwood’s commitment to the three-year-old Aloft brand.

“Building on the success of adaptive reuse projects like the award-winning Aloft Dallas Downtown, a former railroad depot, we’ve developed a conversion-friendly strategy for existing hotels to meet owner and guest demand for the brand while helping our partners reposition existing assets in a cost-effective manner,” said Simon Turner, President of Global Development for Starwood.   “We believe that many well-located, older hotels in metro markets represent enormous untapped repositioning potential.  With the right capital investment and the backing of Starwood’s powerful platforms, these assets will benefit from Aloft’s ever-growing guest loyalty.”

Aloft San Francisco Airport occupies a prime location adjacent to San Francisco International Airport (SFO), one of the world’s busiest travel hubs. The property’s strategic location, along with proximity to mass-transit options into San Francisco, made it an ideal choice for a conversion for Starwood. “We see two types of opportunities as ideal candidates for an Aloft conversion: older hotels in need of a major renovation, and unique independent boutique hotels seeking a stronger brand point of view and the ability to utilize Starwood systems,” Turner said.

For consumers, who have made Aloft one of the world’s most prized hospitality brands, conversions will mean access to the brand in more places, according to Brian McGuinness, Senior Vice President of Specialty Select Brands for Starwood.  “The Aloft brand has developed a fiercely loyal following – consumers constantly ask us to bring the brand to more cities,” he said.  “Conversions are exciting from a brand standpoint because they allow us to bring the Aloft experience to new markets more quickly, which can only enhance its already-powerful growth.”

Yet another young, up and coming life style hotelier beginning to make his mark in the business is Keith Menin of Menin Hotels in Miami Beach. His most noteworthy project is the ongoing US$15 million renovation of the 70-year-old Shelborne Hotel in South Miami Beach, which is expected to be complete sometime this fall. The new look will feature 200 refurbished rooms, 20 suites, nine executive poolside bi-level townhouse suites, multiple mezzanine lanai suites and a sprawling penthouse suite.

In addition, through family assets and a small group of investors, Menin’s group recently acquired the Bentley Hotel to make a portfolio of three in South Beach. The company also has a 50% stake in Miami Beach’s Mondrian hotel and owns/manages the Raffaello hotel in Chicago. Menin says that the group is actively seeking to acquire hotels in New York City, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro, and is willing to come in as a strict manager, as well. Within five years, he says the group should have 10 hotels under management.

“We have developed a great operating platform that can deploy in any city,” Menin said. “We have a strong accounting, revenue management, sales and customer service approach delivered by a young, fresh team.”

Menin says his style of cool includes trying to cater to all experiential needs of his guests. For example, at The Shelborne the update will include a sushi and saki lounge, a taqueria on the beach and a surf shop for renting bikes and boogie boards. Next to the new infinity pool, the hotel will feature a “beauty deck” with an upper sun deck (topless sunbathing area) connected by a cat walk for dramatic entrances. To further differentiate his brand, all three Miami hotels will soon debut a car sharing programs with Zip Car and Hertz Connect.

The finishing touch at the Shelborne will be the removal of the big privacy hedge separating the pool from the beach. “We want people to come in off the beach and get a snow cone or a fish taco. We want to bring back people who have disappeared from the beach,” says the 30-year-old. “It will be like a mini-Vegas hotel with amenities right off the beach.”

Menin admits pulling off the execution of the concept is always difficult and will really focus on “service and giving people what they want.”

Hotel Le Cirque, the New Orleans hotel notable for the nightly light display on its facade, will relaunch later this year as The Hotel Modern New Orleans after an almost $7 million renovation.

2 Lee Circle Associates LLC, a group of New York investors, purchased the St. Charles Avenue property, positioned directly across from the Gen. Robert E. Lee monument, in March 2011 for a reported $4.7 million. It was sold by Imperial Partners LLC, which had leased it for about a decade from the University of New Orleans Foundation.

The hotel remains open during the floor-by-floor renovation.

The managing partner in the property, Klaus Ortlieb, has owned and developed several hotel properties in New York and Los Angeles, including Cooper Square Hotel, The Gotham Hotel on 46th Street and the Chateau Marmont. The New Orleans development is his first outside those cities.

“I wanted to be here because I think New Orleans is a wonderful, cultural city,” Ortlieb said.

The 135-room, two-suite property is perhaps best known for the multicolored light show that illuminates the hotel’s facade each night. The computerized outdoor lighting system was added to the hotel in 2005 when it was operated by Decatur Hotels LLC. The light show has since been a visible part of the downtown skyline as the colors change periodically to form random arrangements or to reflect special events like Mardi Gras and holidays.

But Ortlieb said the hotel will no longer have a dancing light show after its late fall relaunch, calling the display “too Las Vegas.” The building will instead be painted gray and bathed only in an orange light.

The new styling is part of an overall design plan to turn the hotel into a “modern eclectic” boutique hotel that feels more like a friend’s home, Ortlieb said. To accomplish that look, the hotel’s front desk will be ripped out. There will be no formal check-in, he said. Instead, a bellman will take guests’ bags and an attendant will take their names and hand over a room key without the requirement that they sign registration forms or provide identification, Ortlieb said.

“My philosophy is to create a home away from home,” Ortlieb said. “If you trust your guests, they will trust you.”

One guest room that has already been converted featured a bright purple wall and a hot pink bedside table. Another displayed antique bowls filled with candy and a shelf stacked with books, which Ortlieb said lends to the “very homey” vibe.

The plan also includes upgrading the rooms with 37- and 42-inch flat-screen televisions and more modern bathroom fixtures. Ortlieb said the hotel is partnering with the owners of Dominique’s on Magazine and Cure for its first floor restaurant and bar, but he declined to provide further details.

A lounge with a “Moulin Rouge feel” will also occupy the hotel’s bottom floor, Ortlieb said.

“The idea is to create more of an international music scene,” said Ortlieb, who was raised in Germany. “Another jazz club is not going to make it. International music is going to be well-received.”

No significant structural changes are planned.

The total remodel is expected to cost about $50,000 per room.

Ortlieb said he intends for the finished product to attract foreign travelers, creative types such as musicians, and convention attendees who want to get away from their colleagues while in town.

“This area has incredible potential with museums nearby,” Ortlieb said. “What I like about this area is it is just the opposite of the French Quarter.”

The Real Deal Online in New York City reported on Tuesday that real estate investor Joseph Chetrit has, indeed, closed on the reported US$80 million sale of the legendary Hotel Chelsea in New York City, which in its heyday was an artists’ haunt hosting the likes of Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Dylan Thomas and Charles Bukowski.

For months the subject of speculation as to whether the deal would close and if it would remain as a hotel with condo units, the hotel portion of the building checked-out its last guest on Tuesday (condo owners in the building remain), fittingly after security had to convince one final reluctant hotel guest to vacate his room.

The press shy Chetrit, whose portfolio includes the Willis Tower in Chicago and nearly 4.9 million sq ft (0.4 million sq m) of commercial space in New York City, reportedly plans to renovate and reopen the hotel and has brought on well-known hotel architect Gene Kaufman to work on the project.

“It is a very interesting building with tons of potential and clearly some challenges,” said Stephen Brandman of Thompson Hotels, New York City. “Joe Chetrit is a great real estate developer that has dealt with complicated projects before. If Joe partners up with the right hotel management company and is patient with the current tenants and involves them in the long-term vision the hotel could be very successful. I live a block away so would love to see the property evolve.”

Echoing Brandman’s comments was Daniel Lesser, president and CEO, LW Hospitality Advisors, New York City. “The current state of the asset represents a tremendous upside opportunity as evidenced by the recent bid process that attracted numerous sophisticated hotel investors who fiercely competed to obtain control of the property,” he said. “Renovation/repositioning investment opportunities of iconic hotel assets situated in 24/7 urban high barrier to entry markets are rare. Today, the Hotel Chelsea represents such a unique prospect.”