COVER STORY, OCTOBER 2005

STAYING POWER
Several new hotel projects in the West are sure to keep visitors coming with a long list of amenities and attractions.
Anastasia Parsons

Relax, take in the view. Maybe do a little shopping, or take a ride down a waterslide. By all means, enjoy escapism from every angle. Taking an all-encompassing time-out has never been so in demand, and new hotels and resorts slated for completion in the western United States are each focused on the details that will ensure travelers can achieve any and all vacation goals.

The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa

The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa at the base of Colorado's Beaver Creek Mountain.

Those seeking to navigate the powdered trails at the Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa will find high-speed gondolas and a ski valet on site. Additionally, visitors will have access to the Eagle County bike path system, a public riverfront park, a swimming pool, Jacuzzis, a full-service spa and fitness facility, restaurants and meeting space. The resort is also near the town of Avon's public transportation hub.

Having developed Park Hyatt Resort & Spa, which opened in 1989, East West Partners is no stranger to this type of undertaking in Beaver Creek. Other completed projects by this organization include properties in Lake Tahoe, Nevada; Denver; Deer Valley, Utah; and Charleston, South Carolina. “We're very excited to bring the Westin Brand to the Vail Valley,” says Evans. “We expect the brand to bring many first-time visitors here.”

The St. Regis Hotel,San Francisco

The worldwide St. Regis Hotel chain, a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., marks two milestones in 2005 — a century of service within the hospitality industry for the St. Regis Hotel, New York, and the grand opening of the organization's newest property, the St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco. Located at Third and Mission streets in San Francisco's Yerba Buena neighborhood, the 40-story hotel/residential structure designed by Skidmore Ownings & Merrill LLP will feature 201 guest rooms, 59 suites and 102 luxury home units when it opens its doors in November.

Custom-designed furniture, Pratesi linens and robes, deep soaking tubs, and plasma screen televisions are just a few of the in-room guest amenities devised by interior design firm Yabu Pushelberg of Toronto. Two- and three-bedroom residences will top off the remaining 19 floors of the building and feature outdoor balconies, corner living rooms and floor-to-ceiling glass walls or slightly vaulted windows.

Guests and residents alike will have access to an array of amenities developed and constructed by Carpenter & Company Inc. and F.E. Jordan Associates of San Francisco, including a 24-hour hotel concierge, round-the-clock room service, butler service, a business center, the 10,000-square-foot Remède Spa, a 3,700-square-foot fitness center, a 50-foot heated indoor lap pool, 15,000 square feet of indoor meeting space — including a 400-seat ballroom and 12 meeting rooms — and two restaurants. Additionally, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Union Square shopping district are mere steps from the property.

Ame will be the signature St. Regis dining establishment. The 90-seat restaurant is the first in San Francisco from husband-and-wife team Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani, co-owners of Terra in Napa Valley, California — a 2005 James Beard Foundation nominee for outstanding service. Ame's seasonal menu will blend local ingredients with flavors from southern France and northern Italy while adding a dash of Sone's Japanese traditions and sensibilities.

Nine treatment rooms (including a couples room and vichy shower), women's and men's lounges, a whirlpool, sauna and nail studio will encompass the Remède Spa flagship location. Based exclusively on the high-performance, anti-aging skincare systems developed by Laboratoire Remède, services will range from facials, body treatments and massages, to precision waxing, manicures and pedicures. A boutique will also be available to those who wish to purchase the company's products.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort

The Loews Hotels' presence in the West and Southwest continues to grow with its foray into the booming Nevada scene. Starting in 2006, New York City-based Loews will break ground on the newest addition to the group's catalogue of destinations — Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort. Already established as a residential hotspot located just minutes from the bustling Las Vegas Strip, the 3,592-acre Lake Las Vegas Resort is currently a golf and resort community replete with custom home sites, waterfront and course villas, condominiums and luxury executive dwellings. Soon to be nestled near Reflection Bay Golf Club — one of the compound's two signature Jack Nicklaus golf courses — resort guests will experience lakefront views, a private lagoon with white-sand beaches and 320 acres of open water for boating, swimming and fishing activities.

“The Lake Las Vegas setting is perfect for Loews Hotels customers as it offers all the benefits of Las Vegas, but completely removed and within Lake Las Vegas' relaxing, resort destination that offers indoor and outdoor activities and amenities conducive to both group business and leisure travelers,” says Jack Adler, president of Loews Hotels.

Hill Glazier Architects Inc. will keep within the resort's existing Mediterranean theme as the 400-room facility, featuring 40 suites, charges toward a 2008 grand opening. In addition to the existing high-end retail, three championship golf courses and fine dining already available on the resort property, Loews visitors will encounter 40,000 square feet of meeting space, an exhibit center, two outdoor pools with whirlpools, pool cabanas, a 20,000-square-foot destination spa, a kids club, two restaurants, and lobby and pool bars.

Great Wolf Lodge

Year-round family fun will help build the foundation of Great Wolf Lodge in Chehalis, Washington. A joint venture between Madison, Wisconsin-based Great Wolf Resorts Inc. and The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, the Lodge is the result of the area's need for a 12-month tourism destination.

Scheduled to break ground this fall, and located midway between Portland and Seattle, the Lodge will be the first Great Wolf property in the Pacific Northwest. The 39-acre site will feature 317 suites upon its completion in late 2006/early 2007. Great Wolf   Resorts will manage the $80+ million initiative that is still in the process of finalizing an architect and a construction contractor.

Planned amenities will have something for everyone. A 65,000-square-foot indoor entertainment area will feature a year-round indoor water park, an Aveda Concept Spa, fitness room, arcade with a ticket redemption center and a children's craft and activity facility. Great Wolf Lodge will cater to the business and meeting segments with a 30,000-square-foot conference center. A gift emporium, two themed family restaurants, a confectionery café and a water park snack bar will also be located on site, and all refinements will keep with the property's Northwoods theme.

The Westin Oceanside Beachfront Resort

Breaking ground in second quarter 2007, the more than $100 million Westin Oceanside Beachfront Resort will feature 302 rooms upon completion in 2009.

Rapid growth in north San Diego County and the area's hotel market were major factors in the development of this project, according to Jeremy Cohen, senior vice president for S.D. Malkin Properties. Slated for completion in second quarter 2009, the resort, located at Pacific Street and Mission Avenue, will house 302 rooms in the full-service hotel, and the boutique all-suite wing of the property will feature its own concierge. Timeshares, retail space and restaurants will also be part of the package designed by SB Architects of San Francisco.

“Pacific Street retains the feeling of an old-time California oceanfront town,” says Cohen. “The project sits on a low bluff that allows dramatic ocean views, even from ground level. The architecture and interiors will have an informal beach cottage feeling.”

Ninety percent of the rooms in the resort will have these ocean views, and all guests will have access to Southern California's sandy beaches nearby. Upon completion, visitors can treat themselves in the 10,000-square-foot, full-service spa, which will feature an oceanfront porch for outdoor treatments. Additional amenities include a pool, oceanfront lounge, terraces, a restaurant, an ocean-view pre-function area, function areas, ballrooms and meeting space.

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