Meeting News - January 28, 2008 - (Page 26)

Insider Report: Gaming Peppermill Spices Up Reno’s Meetings Facilities On the heels of opening a 600-room tower in December that boosted the luxury quotient in Reno, the Peppermill casino resort has begun a series of projects that includes another new-toReno venue: a poolside event space. The Peppermill is creating the space, with three pools, next to the new tower, not far from its new 62,000-sf ballroom. “It is going to be a unique offering, because Reno hotels don’t really have any group poolside facilities,” said Mary Paoli, communications manager for the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority. In addition, the resort is refurbishing all existing 1,025 guest rooms and 40,000 sf of meeting space, as well as constructing a 30,000-sf, three-story spa that is slated to open next fall. It already has opened a new ﬁtness facility. —Heidi Waldrop Bay Lake Las Vegas Events Bank On the Ritz-Carlton In March, the 349-room Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas is opening its new Pontevecchio Pavilion on the banks of Lake Las Vegas. The fully climatecontrolled, glass-enclosed ballroom with panoramic lake views is said to be the ﬁrst event space of its kind in southern Nevada. The 4,920-sf pavilion is designed to host receptions and dinners, as well as meetings and exhibitions. Able to accommodate up to 300 people, the non-traditional ballroom has an exterior design that matches the resort’s Tuscan-inspired decor. —Heidi Waldrop Bay New poolside event venue and a spa are among Peppermill casino resort’s current projects. Caesars Palace Begins Rolling Out $1B Revamp Caesars Palace Las Vegas opened the ﬁrst element of a $1-billion renovation and expansion project with the completion of an $83-million remodeling of the 452-room Forum Tower this spring. The other components are set to be ﬁnished by spring 2009, including a new guest room tower and a substantial increase in meeting and convention facilities that will bring the resort’s total function space up to 300,000 sf. As part of the massive revamp, the new 665room Octavius Tower will increase in room count to 4,013. At the same time, Caesars Palace is building a new facility to replace the existing Events Center. Two new 60,000-sf ballrooms will be augmented by two executive boardrooms, several breakout rooms, and a special event space overlooking two new pools. Other pieces of the project include the renovation of the resort’s original entrance plus new restaurants. —Heidi Waldrop Bay MeetingNews Q & A: Heavenly Times in Tahoe The complex will have a 16,000-sf spa and 50,000 sf of retail space—the things planners and visitors expect. In addition, all the major hotels are continuing to create a better product for the meeting attendee. Paul Swanston, director of sales for the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, gets passionate when he talks about South Lake Tahoe’s meetings transformation. QHow A is South Lake Tahoe evolving? We have always had a bit of a nostalgic look and feel, which deﬁnitely had its time and place. But over the past ﬁve to 10 years, a transformation has taken place. It has included trading out some of the old motels and retail space for a luxurious village feel with great shopping, dining, and entertainment; gaming has become more of an amenity instead of the focus. So, a lot of the properties have been putting their resources into other areas. At the top of that list is meetings and conventions. What are some of the key developments, and what do they mean to meetings? Q A How else does the Chateau project change the meeting attendee experience? Q A We are in the midst of the climax of our renaissance now with the addition of the Chateau at Heavenly, which includes 470 guest rooms and a conference center with 70,000 sf of usable space. January 28, 2008 They are going to experience a high-end esthetic. The Chateau project is taking place right in the middle of our town, so I can now say that our destination is truly walkable. In the past, we relied on shuttle transportation, which is a lot of work for the planner. Now, right next to our ﬁve major meetings hotels is the Village at Heavenly, with shops, restaurants, and the gondola taking people up the mountain for activities. And, right across the street, connected by covered walkway, is the Chateau complex. —Interview by Heidi Waldrop Bay Atlantic City Undergoing New Wave of Resort Build Facing competition from slots in Pennsylvania and upstate New York, Atlantic City is poised to reinvent itself some more, this time as a hipper, more upscale destination. Spurred in part by the 2003 opening of the high-end Borgata, and following a recent inﬂux of retail and culinary attractions, a new wave of resort investment is under way that’s unlike any the city has seen since gaming came to town in 1978. continued on page 28 www.meetingnews.com 26 MeetingNews http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - January 28, 2008

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