By Adrienne A. Aguirre, North County Times, Escondido, Calif.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
RANCHO
PENASQUITOS, California October 12, 2005 -- Residents around the
Doubletree Hotel and Golf Resort
said they want the hotel to stay, during a planning meeting Tuesday
night.
The neighborhood meeting was called by Cornerstone Real
Estate Advisors, which is considering renovating the 1970s resort or
replacing it with a new development that could include housing, retail
stores, an amphitheater or a community center.
The
Connecticut-based company teamed up with San Diego-based Windstar
Communities, which develops and manages commercial properties, to see
whether the 127-acre property is still meeting the needs of the
community.
The
meeting was the first of three and was for residents who live north of
the hotel and south of Camino del Norte. More than 70 people filled the
hotel's Riveria Room, at 14455 Penasquitos Drive, and were asked to
vote on the various options for replacing the hotel if that were to
happen.
Many refused to vote saying the only option was to keep the hotel.
"What
you are doing is forcing us to vote on something we don't want because
we have no other choice," said a resident who did not want to give her
name.
Windstar President Darrell Gary said neighbor feedback is
what the hotel owners wanted and is why they called the meeting instead
of following the traditional process of creating new land use plans and
then asking for community feedback.
"We've been in the business since 1979," he told the residents, "and
this is one of the few corporate entities that has cared."
The
174-room hotel has been a fixture on the west side of Interstate 15
north of Carmel Mountain Road for more than 25 years. It was last
renovated in 1999.
Windstar said the resort is popular with
business people, tourists and nearby residents who book rooms for their
out-of-town relatives, dine at the hotel or golf on its 18-hole course.
Gary
said the golf course draws fewer people, though, prompting the
property's owners to question whether it is meeting the community's
needs as part of its regular review.
Residents said the hotel
needs better management and marketing, and that they would continue to
spend money there, or spend more, if the hotel made some improvements.
"When you live near a golf course, any Realtor will tell you, that's an
asset," said one resident at the meeting.
Suggestions
for improving business included adding a gourmet restaurant, giving
golf discounts to nearby residents and better advertising.
Windstar
said residents can still provide feedback on a community idea message
line at (866) 744-8077, and that an informational Web site is in the
works and it should be up within the month.
The next meeting
will be at the hotel at 6 p.m Oct. 19, for residents south of Diablo
Way, east of Penasquitos Drive and north of Carmel Mt. Road.
The
last meeting will be at 6 p.m. Nov. 9, for residents west or southwest
of Penasquitos Drive, west of Interstate 15 and north of Ted Williams
Parkway.
For other information, officials are asking people to leave a message
on the community line.
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Copyright (c) 2005, North County Times, Escondido, Calif.
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