Bob Van Bergen was named general manager of the Crowne Plaza.  Van Bergen was previously general manager of The Rosemont Suites at O�Hare outside Chicago and of Wild Dunes Resort outside Charleston, S.C., both Destination Hotels & Resorts properties.  Van Bergen has been an executive with Destination Hotels & Resorts for 10 years.  He and his wife Mary will move to Springfield this month with their son and will actively participate in the Springfield community.

Featuring 288 deluxe guest rooms including 70 executive level rooms and 14 designer suites, the Crowne Plaza Hotel Springfield has the elegant look and style of a great contemporary European hotel.  With more than 50,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, and an exemplary level of personal service, the Crowne Plaza has become the host for many regional, state and national conventions and received the Crowne Plaza 1999 Hotel of the Year Award.  The hotel is just minutes from the Lincoln historic sites, state government complex, shopping and cinema, golf and a variety of other recreational amenities. 

The Holiday Inn Express features 138 guest rooms, four meeting rooms, fitness center, game room,  guest laundry and daily complimentary breakfast.  The hotel was renovated in 1998 to meet growing demand from leisure travelers to the area, including those who come to Springfield to visit the birth place of President Abraham Lincoln.

Lowe Enteprises, Inc. is a national investment, management and development firm.  Over the past 28 years, Lowe Enterprises has developed, acquired or managed more than $5 billion of real estate assets nationwide.  The firm manages in excess of $2.8 billion in real estate assets on behalf of its pension fund clients.  Headquartered in Los Angeles, Lowe maintains offices in Brea, Calif., Cincinnati, Denver, London, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Antonio, Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle and the Washington, DC area.  

With this acquisition, Destination Hotels & Resorts offers a collection of 24 upscale and luxury hotels and resorts featuring more than 6,500 guest rooms, 11 golf courses and three full-service spas spanning nine states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, North Carolina, Oregon and South Carolina, as well as the District of Columbia. Destination Hotels & Resorts� sister company, Destination Europe Limited, manages three luxury hotels in the United Kingdom.