Meeting News - February 2, 2009 - (Page 36)

Island Incentives No Secret: Park Hyatt Is Coming to Bermuda Bermuda is finally getting another brand-name hotel familiar to meeting planners: The 100room Park Hyatt Bermuda will open on the site of the former Club Med property in St. George’s in 2012. The long-rumored project on Bermuda’s northeastern coast was confirmed in December, when Global Hyatt Corp. announced a management deal for the 30-acre, oceanfront resort. It will feature 5,000 sf of meeting space, four F&B venues, a 14,000-sf Hyatt Pure spa and fitness center, a private beach club, two swimming pools, and tennis courts. “We look forward to bringing a new level of luxury and elegance to Bermuda,” said Rakesh Sarna, Hyatt’s chief operating officer for international operations. Two properties from Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, the Southampton and the Hamilton Princess, currently account for the bulk of meetings business in Bermuda. Local observers said properties like the Park Hyatt will complement the Fairmont resorts. Starla Williams, owner of Select Sites Group, a DMC, said small and midsize meetings will continue to gravitate toward the Hamilton Princess because of its downtown location, and the Southampton will still dominate large meetings. The Park Hyatt and the new Tucker’s Point Hotel (see story below) will be convenient to L.F. Wade International Airport and offer much-needed new product on the island. “Bermuda has needed a new hotel to compete with other destinations—and particularly one of a Four Seasons standard,” said Williams, regarding the Park Hyatt. Part of the Park Hyatt project is a major redesign by Nick Faldo of the adjacent, 18-hole St. George’s Golf Club. The hotel overlooks St. Catherine’s Beach and includes two 19th-century forts, Fort Victoria and Fort Albert. Bermuda’s Tucker’s Point Hotel Will Have Array of Spaces Board meetings, senior management retreats, and top-tier incentives will be among the target markets for the Tucker’s Point Hotel and Spa when it opens on April 1. The 5,000-sf Tucker’s Point Conference Center will be a major component of the 88-room hotel, which plans to host only one group at a time and offer buyouts. Its 2,700-sf Camden Ballroom will welcome up to 200 attendees and be divisible into three 900-sf rooms. The ballroom will open onto the stylish Palm Court, a space for cocktail receptions and other outdoor events amid fountains, pools, and towering trees. The conference center will feature a 560-sf boardroom, free Wi-Fi, AV equipment, a private office suite, and a full business center. Other features at Tucker’s include the Walsingham Suite, with a 340-sf balcony and space for groups of 50; a 22-seat wine room; and a 100-foot yacht for charters, receptions for 50, and dinners for 25. Tucker’s Point will have Bermuda’s only 18hole championship golf course, and the clubhouse will have a 330-sf boardroom for 12. The Tucker’s Point Beach Club will have capacity for beach barbecues and waterfront events. Aruba Marriott’s Major Rework Includes a Hotel-Within-Hotel The 411-room Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, one of Aruba’s premier meetings properties, finished a $50 million renovation that included complete guest-room, lobby, and reception-area makeovers; a new Ruth’s Chris Steak House; a redesigned La Vista restaurant; and a 59room hotel-within-hotel, the Tradewinds Club. The eighth-floor hotel-within-hotel’s club lounge is exclusive to Tradewinds’ guests, as is a private beach. The lounge features an outdoor terrace, five-times-daily food service, private check-in, and an open bar. John Woolley, director of sales and marketing, said up to 25 Tradewinds rooms can be booked for small groups like board retreats. “The Tradewinds offers something that other properties don’t have,” he said. The Marriott has 11,000 sf of meeting space, including an 8,400-sf grand ballroom. The renovations did not include the meeting facilities but did add La Vista Terrace, an outdoor event space for 200 guests with beach and ocean views. Tradewinds Club, featuring this lounge, is a hotel-within-hotel at the Aruba Marriott. The Caribbean’s Biggest Water Park Opens in Aruba Groups in Aruba looking for a break between breakout sessions can work in a visit to Morgan’s Island, a $14 million, 28,000-sf water park that features individual and tube slides, wave pools, and a kids’ area. The new attraction on Eagle Beach claims to be the biggest water park in the Caribbean and Latin America. H —Section by Robert Curley 36 MeetingNews February 2, 2009 www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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