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Kimberly-Clark Corp. Putting Final Touches on 918-room Renaissance Grand Hotel St. Louis, the Former Statler Hilton
By Christopher Carey, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News 

Feb. 14, 2003 - One of two restaurants in the new Renaissance Grand Hotel St. Louis was cranking out breakfast Thursday -- for employees instead of guests. 

Desk clerks were checking in mock customers under the watchful eyes of their supervisors. Contractors were scrambling to put fixtures and furnishings in place for this weekend's grand opening. 

The 918-room Renaissance Grand will greet its first official guests Saturday, marking the culmination of the four-year, $265 million renovation of the old Statler and Lennox hotels in downtown St. Louis. 

"It's just been an amazing transformation," said Susanne Voeltz, a representative for Kimberly-Clark Corp. of Dallas, the hotel's majority owner. 

The Statler, which opened in 1917 and was known later in life as the Gateway Hotel, had been vacant for nearly 20 years. 

The project is one of the catalysts for redevelopment along Washington Avenue. It also provides a boost to the region's convention capabilities, said Traci Russell, marketing director for the Renaissance Grand and the neighboring 165-unit Renaissance St. Louis Suites. 

The two hotels put more than 1,000 rooms in close proximity to America's Center, an important consideration for groups planning major gatherings. 

The Renaissance Grand also has generated about 400 jobs, and the work force is likely to rise to 600 when the hotel reaches full speed over the summer, Russell said. 

The Renaissance St. Louis Suites, which opened last year, employs about 100 people. 

Marriott International operates the properties. 

The company received more than 5,000 applications for the jobs at the Renaissance Grand, Russell said. It imported some key employees from its properties in other parts of the country, hired a few people away from local competitors and picked up the rest from a variety of other fields. 

"We hire a lot for attitude," Russell said, noting that in many hotel positions, people skills are as important as experience. 

The Renaissance Grand is a combination of the original 21-story Statler Hotel and a new 23-story tower. 

The lobby features a three-story atrium, complete with petrified palm trees that link Capri, the Mediterranean-themed restaurant on the lower level, with the registration area and lounge. 

Capri opens Saturday and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Post & Sons, a French restaurant, will open this spring in what once was the Statler's lobby. 

A Starbucks at the southeast corner of the hotel is scheduled to open Wednesday. 

RENAISSANCE GRAND HOTEL ST. LOUIS 

Address: 800 Washington Avenue 

Opening date: Saturday 

Rooms: 918 

Employees: 400, but projected to reach 600 by summer 

Cost: $265 million, including Renaissance St. Louis Suites Hotel 

Operator: Marriott International Inc. 

Introductory rates: $59 a night through March 4, $99 a night from March 11 to April 4 (sold out for March 5 to March 10) 

Regular rate: $129 to $229 a night 

Majority owner: Kimberly-Clark Corp. 

History: Formerly the Statler Hotel, opened in 1917 

-----To see more of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.stltoday.com. 

(c) 2003, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. KMB, MAR, SBUX, 


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