Meeting News - January 5, 2009 - (Page 31)

East Regional Mandarin Oriental Debuts Luxury Meeting Space in Boston’s Back Bay Approximately 13 years in the making due to chronic construction delays and a fire early last year, the new Mandarin Oriental, Boston hotel opened this past October in the city’s Back Bay neighborhood, where it’s positioning to be one of the city’s most prestigious properties. The Mandarin Oriental, Boston features 136 rooms, 12 suites, a 16,000-sf spa and fitness center, and 10,000 sf of function space. There are three meeting rooms (the largest of which is 1,280 sf), a 1,950-sf prefunction space called the Oriental Gallery, as well as a 4,200-sf ballroom that can accommodate as many as 600 guests and is divisible by two. In addition to the new, upmarket group space, the Mandarin Oriental, Boston offers meetings solutions, according to group sales manager Kai Chao, who said that technology is a major differentiator for the property. Aside from standard services like wired and wireless Internet, the property offers meeting spaces with adjustable lighting, computerized temperature control, webenabled videoconferencing, computerized screens that can be customized to display group messages outside meeting rooms, and in-room television channels on which attendees can watch or revisit recorded meeting sessions. Like all Mandarin Oriental hotels, five-star service is the mainstay, according to Chao. “We’re all about attention to detail,” he said, “which means that meeting planners have a lot less to worry about. We’ve got everything taken care of, so they can really focus on the content of their events.” The Boston property is Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental’s fifth hotel in the U.S. —Robert Curley Newport, RI’s Largest Hotel Gets ‘Unprecedented’ Makeover A $34 million retooling of the Hyatt Regency Newport—the historic Rhode Island city’s largest hotel and only true destination resort–—touched almost every area of the property and included major upgrades to its event and conference facilities. The hotel has an 8,000-sf grand ballroom, 16 meeting rooms, and 27,000 sf of function space in all. “The remodeling of all the Hyatt’s meeting and event spaces, as well as the creation of a new main entrance and lobby area— offering a spectacular sense of arrival overlooking the Newport Bridge—is a great story for us,” said Tim Walsh, VP of sales for the Newport Convention and Visitors Bureau. “With the Hyatt project complete, all four convention hotels in Newport, including the Hotel Viking, the Newport Marriott, and the Newport, will have undergone major renovations.” But the 317-room Newport Marriott is not done yet. It is starting a two-month renovation of its 24,800 sf of meeting space this month. —RC Room for Everyone continued from page 30 light Lady, it’s the first overnight cruise ship to operate on Lake Champlain since 1932, according to the boat’s sales and marketing director, Gwendy Lauritzen. Like the Spirit of Ethan Allen III, the Moonlight Lady has three separate decks: a lower deck that’s designed for entertaining, with books, nautical charts, board games, and movies; a middle deck that features eight private cabins that sleep a total of 16; and an upper deck that can seat 40 and includes an open kitchen, a bar, and a lounge. “It’s great for small meetings, if you want to get away from cell phones, faxes, and e-mails for a two-day, one-night think tank,” Lauritzen said. “Or, for larger groups, you can go out for an entire day on the upper deck.” In May, the Moonlight Lady will commence its second season, and the Spirit of Ethan Allen III its eighth. The two boats will sail in the midst of a yearlong celebration honoring Lake Champlain’s 400th anniversary. —Matt Alderton www.meetingnews.com January 5, 2009 MeetingNews 31 http://www.pennstatehotels.com http://www.pennstatehotels.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - January 5, 2009

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