Meeting News - March 9, 2009 - (Page 34)

Planners Guide to Florida Hyatt Sarasota Captures The Pulitzer—Lilly, That Is Makeover gives hotel aesthetic inspired by fashion legend On top of a renovation that redid its 294 guest rooms, lobby, restaurant, and bar and added a 2,000-sf meeting room and Florida Green Lodging designation last fall, the Hyatt Regency Sarasota in recent months also overhauled its 10,000sf ballroom and created a new over-the-water event space called the Boathouse. The transformation has effectively re-branded the Hyatt as a contemporary and casually elegant hotel, to which the response has been “fantastic,” according to general manager Mark Becker. A MeetingNews property tour showed a sprawling ivory lobby accented by cherry woods and pastel colors with contrasting hues (see photo), a look inspired by the style of fashion icon Lilly Pulitzer. The revamped Currents bar sits between the Currents restaurant and the multi-story lobby windows, which offer panoramic views of the property’s 32-slip marina and Sarasota Bay. The similarly Pulitzer-inspired guest rooms—200 of which can be blocked for groups—have upgraded bathrooms, new soft goods, and Hyatt Grand Beds, as well as 32inch flat-panel TVs, iHome clock radios, oversized work desks, and Wi-Fi. Meanwhile, the Sarasota Ballroom, divisible by eight, received new carpeting, wall treatments, fixtures, and furniture. But there also have been changes that go more than skin-deep. After adding the 2,000-sf Tropics Room, divisible by two and which opens up to the property’s lagoon-style pool, the Hyatt converted its old Boathouse restaurant into a 2,000-sf event space. In creating the over-the-water group venue, which has new carpet, fixtures, and artwork, Becker said, matter-of-factly, “We didn’t need two restaurants.” The pair of spaces has crested the hotel’s total group capacity to the 20,000-sf mark. The Hyatt also has a 17-person boardroom, breakout rooms, and an outdoor event space for 100, while its lower lobby can accommodate functions. The Hyatt also remade its internal operations to be eco-friendly— earning the property membership in Florida’s high-profile Green Lodging Program, and it retooled its food and beverage. Nicaraguan-born executive chef Aaron Chavarria has designed a fusion “Floribbean” menu based on local seafood, citrus elements, and island spices and colors, headlined by “Florida Lobster Macadamia,” “Cedar Key Clams,” and “Tropical Cajun Scallops.” For groups using the Hyatt’s outdoor event space, Chavarria and his team can whip up his creations from a fully equipped cooking pavilion. Besides Chavarria buying organic ingredients locally, the Hyatt has implemented low-flow plumbing fixtures, linen reuse, and green housekeeping and supplies. General manager Becker said the property is now working on Two Palm designation under Florida’s green lodging hierarchy. —William Ng New Conference Center, Hotels Resurrect Region Around Charlotte Harbor The Gulf Coast’s Port CharlottePunta Gorda region is back on the map after the 45,000-sf, multiuse Charlotte Harbor Event & Conference Center staged its grand opening in January. Charlotte County suffered the most severe damage when Hurricane Charley made landfall in 2004. “To recover from that and be where we are now, we’re calling it a renaissance,” said Jennifer Huber, spokeswoman for the Charlotte Harbor Visitor & Convention Bureau. The $19.7 million conference center arose on a waterfront site, where the Peace River flows into Charlotte Harbor, and handles 900 guests with banquet seating and more than 1,500 theater-style. Its main hall, divisible by three, holds 112 10-by-10-foot booths. Lodging has steadily returned. Punta Gorda will have 350 rooms within walking distance of the conference center when a Four Points by Sheraton opens in May; the hotel will offer meeting space for 75. A smaller, luxury property, the Wyvern Hotel, opened last November, with meeting space for 50. Other signs of momentum: Last November, Direct Air began airlift at Charlotte County Airport to Worcester, MA; Niagara Falls, NY; Toledo, OH; Allentown, PA; Kalamazoo, MI; and Myrtle Beach, SC. In March, Allegiant Air will begin flying to Knoxville, TN, and Greenville/Spartanburg, SC. In February, the Tampa Bay Rays moved into the newly built Charlotte Sports Park for spring training. And, opening this month in Punta Gorda is Rick Treworgy’s Muscle Car City, a classic-car museum, diner, and custom-parts shop. —Brad Crawford 34 MeetingNews March 9, 2009 www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - March 9, 2009

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