CHICAGO, Illinois, March 27, 2003 - Preferred Hotels® & Resorts
Worldwide, a prestigious brand of more than 116 distinctive, independent
luxury hotels and resorts has extended its member collection with the addition
of three new properties: St. Julien Hotel in Boulder, Colorado; Sanibel
Harbour Resort & Spa in Ft. Myers, Florida; and the Montage Resort
& Spa in Laguna Beach, California.
�Preferred is proud to welcome these three distinctive hotels to our
membership portfolio,� said Rob Cornell, Managing Director of Preferred
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. �As the Preferred brand continues to grow
worldwide and throughout North America, visitors to these key markets can
now be assured of travel experiences that are unparalleled in superior
quality and service.�
Membership in Preferred is restricted to independently owned, full-service
luxury hotels, resorts and spas. Preferred considers top-caliber properties
for membership that meet and exceed the high operational levels required
by Preferred�s Standards of Excellenceä, an award-winning, proprietary
quality assurance audit that annually measures and monitors 1,600 aspects
of a property�s service delivery and facilities.
Prospective Preferred member hotels are evaluated on such elements as
geographic location, building architecture and design, grounds and landscaping,
interior design, guest rooms and common areas, bathroom features, staffing
levels, food and beverage facilities, room service, engineering and safety,
health and fitness facilities, business services, and conference/meeting
facilities.
The newest Preferred member hotels are:
St. Julien Hotel, Boulder, Colorado
Considered for years the last great opportunity site in downtown Boulder,
St. Julien Hotel is located within walking distance of Boulder�s major
tourist and central business districts and offers unobstructed and unmatched
views of the city�s signature Mountain Range�the Flatirons. The four-story,
150,000-square-foot full-service hotel is architecturally inspired by the
Arts and Crafts era, and has the �look and feel� of indigenous local materials
such as granite, sandstone and slate. The 200 guest rooms and suites will
be �mountain luxury� in design, featuring only the most superior and luxurious
amenities. The full-service spa at St. Juilen will house twelve treatment
rooms plus a salon, men and women�s sauna and steam rooms, an
indoor pool with sundeck and a separate fitness area. State-of-the-art
conference space and one of the largest meeting facilities within the city
of Boulder will accommodate groups of up to 400 people. The 4,800-square-feet
ballroom is easily divided into three separate rooms, plus three additional
meeting rooms. The hotel�s restaurant, fashioned after a Colorado bistro,
hosts an atmosphere of casual elegance. With a separate entrance, it will
be enjoyed by both hotel guests and local diners. Spacious terraces offer
spectacular views. The property is scheduled to open January 2004. Their
membership officially begins on August 1, 2003.
St Julien Hotel
Boulder, CO
Corner of 9th & Canyon
Construction begins Late 2002
Grand Opening in Mid 2004
Developer/Owner: St Julien Partners LLC
Boulder, CO
Architect:
Urban Design Group
Denver, CO |
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Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa, Ft. Myers, Florida
A waterfront resort situated on more than 85 acres, the Sanibel Harbour
Resort & Spa is a tropical oasis that embraces the beauty of flourishing
mangroves and gardens. Originally built in 1988 and renovated in 2002,
the property boasts four buildings with accommodations including a 107
room �boutique� inn, 51 condominiums (two buildings) and a main hotel with
242 rooms. The Spa at Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa is a 40,000-square-foot
facility offering over 60 different treatments. For sport, the resort features
a championship tennis complex with nine newly resurfaced tennis courts,
a racquet club (named one of the �Ultimate Tennis Resorts in America� by
Racquet Magazine), a golf course, six swimming pools, a bayside beach and
a 19-slip marina. Children can enjoy daily educational adventure activities
through the hotel�s Kid�s Club. The hotel also offers kayaking, pool floats
and fishing aboard the Sanibel Harbour Princess, a 100-foot private luxury
yacht. Additionally, the yacht offers elegant sunset dinner cruises each
evening with panoramic views of the Florida Gulf Coast. Guests can also
experience a variety of dining pleasures at one of six restaurants and
lounges on the hotel grounds.
Montage Resort & Spa, Laguna Beach, California
Situated on a coastal bluff in the middle of the artistic, eclectic
town of Laguna Beach, Montage Resort & Spa has been hailed as �the
single best beachfront property in the U.S.� Settled on 30-acres of ultra
luxurious beachfront property the newly opened Montage Resort & Spa
features 262 guest rooms including 51 suites. Each guest room and suite
offers turn-of-the-century style accommodations complete with custom dark
wood furnishings, muted tranquil hues and authentic early California artwork.
Additionally, rooms feature feathertop beds, private balconies or patios,
high-speed Internet access, voicemail, a flat screen television and DVD/CD
player. The meeting facilities feature a Grand Ballroom with capacity of
up to 500, a Gallery Ballroom for up to 250, a Pacific Lawn for 325 and
an Ocean Lawn for up to 360 guests. The 20,000-square-foot spa facility
offers 22 treatment rooms, a signature couples suite, floor-to-ceiling
open-air windows offering panoramic views of the ocean, an expansive fitness
center with state-of-the-art equipment, a mosaic infinity pool, a lap-pool
and a children�s pool. At �Studio� the resort�s signature oceanside restaurant,
guests can enjoy awe-inspiring panoramic views of the Pacific while expansive
open-air windows offer refreshing ocean breezes. Two custom-built wine
vaults present guests with a selection of more than 2,000 fine wines.
IndeCorp Corporation President and CEO,
Peter Cass Departs
Peter Aeby, Chairman of the Board of IndeCorp Corporation, which owns
and operates three brands of independent hotels located on five continents,
Preferred Hotels(R) & Resorts Worldwide, Summit Hotels & Resorts
and Sterling Hotels & Resorts, announced today that Peter Cass has
left the organization as President and CEO of the company, effective immediately.
Mr. Aeby said that the decision was reached mutually and made in the best
interest of the corporation. Mr. Aeby and Board Member Onno Poortier will
jointly oversee the corporation until a successor is named. The current
Managing Directors will continue to handle the direction of each of the
individual brands, of which the day-to-day operations will remain unchanged.
According to Aeby. "Peter Cass was responsible for growing our company
in many significant ways through his leadership and vision. Going forward
it is our intention to strike a balance between strategic vision and the
ongoing business needs of the many fine hotels we represent." |
Founded in 1968, Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (www.preferredhotels.com;
GDS code: PH) is a global brand of 117 of the world�s finest individually
owned and managed luxury hotels and resorts. Preferred prides itself
on the distinctiveness and diversity of its properties, in terms of location,
ambiance, décor and culture. Every member hotel, however, shares
the same dedication to service and must qualify for membership by adhering
to Preferred�s Standards of Excellence, an exhaustive quality assurance
program that includes an annual, third party unannounced audit of 1,600
standards and practices. Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
is a wholly owned subsidiary of IndeCorp Corporation, an organization dedicated
to providing independent hotel brands with the resources needed to compete
effectively with global hotel chains and preserve the diversity and distinctiveness
of the world�s independent hotels.
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