The new Hyatt Centric South Beach in Florida. (Image: Hyatt)
In news of new business class hotels, two new brands debut in Miami; a luxury Philadelphia property will become affiliated with Hilton; Hilton grows its Curio Collection and overhauls its San Francisco Union Square property; and Seattle adds a pair of new hotels.
Recent openings in Miami include Hyatt’s recently-launched Hyatt Centric brand and a new AC Hotel from Marriott. The Hyatt Centric South Beach, a 105-room “lifestyle hotel,” occupies a 10-story glass tower at 1600 Collins Avenue. it has a library, an open-air deck and pool, a Spanish-Mediterranean restaurant and a fitness center.
Marriott’s new AC Hotel Miami Beach, at 2912 Collins Avenue, “is designed for those creative, well-traveled, entrepreneurial spirits who are constantly on the go and who appreciate the oasis of a well-designed hotel,” the company said. The seven-story, 150-room AC Hotel has a library, a rooftop pool and bar, fitness center, and “communal spaces that offer state-of-the-art technology and complimentary Wi-Fi.”
Rates start at around $200 at both Miami Beach hotels.
The big hotel news in Philadelphia is that the Logan Square Four Seasons has shut down, and when it reopens it won’t be a Four Seasons any more. After renovation work this summer, it will reopen in the fall as The Logan, a member of Curio-A Collection by Hilton. That’s the new Hilton-affiliated group of independent properties that take part in the Hilton reservations network and the HHonors program.
Hilton also announced the signing of several other properties to join its Curio group, including the Sam Houston in Houston; The Juniper Hotel in Cupertino, Calif.; The Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids, Mich.; The Hoodoo Moab in Moab, Utah; The Partridge Inn Augusta in Augusta, Ga.; and the historic Redmont Hotel in Birmingham, Ala.
Renovated guest room at the Hilton Union Square in San Francisco. (Image: Hilton)
In San Francisco, the landmark Hilton San Francisco Union Square just wrapped up a multi-million dollar renovation of 575 guest rooms in Tower 1, and added 11 new rooms, giving the hotel a total of 1,919 and helping it retain its title as the city’s largest hotel. The rooms got new doors, soundproofing, digital thermostats that show local weather, and Internet service that offers “the most bandwidth and fastest connectivity in the city,” among other improvements, Hilton said.
In Seattle, Hyatt has cut the ribbon on the Hyatt House Seattle/Downtown, located next to Seattle Center (home of the iconic Space Needle), offering 172 residential-style accommodations. And InterContinental Hotels Group has opened the Staybridge Suites-Seattle-Fremont, at 3926 Aurora Ave. North. in a neighborhood close to the University of Washington, new Facebook offices, and tech firms like Adobe and Google.
The new Hyatt House in Seattle sits in the shadow of the Space Needle. (Image: Hyatt)]
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I just went to the San Francisco Hilton’s website and chuckled at their latest promotion: a room rate that includes parking and WiFi. Now there’s a combination of amenities you don’t often see bundled. It seems like a good deal, because parking costs at downtown San Francisco hotels have climbed into the stratosphere recently.