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The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort and Club Reopens Following
 $100 million in Renovations; 500 Employees Back to Work

By Carli Teproff and Chris Cutro, The Miami HeraldMcClatchy-Tribune Business News

Dec. 14, 2006 - When the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort and Club reopens Friday, more than 200 rooms will be filled.

By next week the 407 newly refurnished guest rooms should be completely booked, said Phil Goldfarb, president of Turnberry Associates.

"We are bringing back to Aventura a luxury resort," Goldfarb said. "The resort impacts everything around us: the mall, the restaurants; everyone benefits."

The resort is one of only three hotels in Aventura, though there are several just outside of the city in Sunny Isles Beach.

And the hotel's reopening couldn't come at a better time, said Elaine Adler, president of the Aventura Marketing Council.

Adler said the resort, which is known locally as the Central Park of Aventura, serves as the home-base for Marketing Council get-togethers. "It has always been the figurative center of the community," she said.

The hotel had an extreme makeover of sorts, opening right on schedule, according to Goldfarb. The guest rooms, the lobby, the common areas and the golf courses were updated and upgraded.

Turnberry Associates, the owners, fed more than $100 million into the renovations, citing the need to restore the 300-acre facility to its former glory. The hotel, which was built in the 1970s, now has a "boutique hotel" feel with a touch of modernism.

Each guest room is equipped with LCD televisions and iPod docking stations.

"Technology is a big part of what we are doing," he said.

In the days leading up to the opening, workers were installing everything from carpet to new light fixtures. Last Friday the lobby furniture was delivered and rooms were still being decorated.

"People are working 24 hours a day," Goldfarb said.

One of the resort's two 18-hole golf courses will reopen on Friday with hills and more water. The second will open in March.

The resort's spa and tennis courts, and the beach club, located in Sunny Isles Beach, have remained open during the renovations.

During the six months the hotel was closed, more than 200 employees remained onboard. Now the hotel is back up to 500 employees for the reopening on Friday.

"This is an exciting time for all of us," Goldfarb said. "We are very proud of the outcome."

By Carli Teproff and Chris Cutro

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Miami Herald

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