KSLW specializes in hotel architecture and has built some of the finest hotels in the world, including the Phoenician in Scottsdale, Ariz., the Marriott Palm Desert and Convention Center in Palm Desert, Calif., and the Halekulani in Honolulu, which has often been called the best hotel in Hawaii.

Hotels designed by KSLW frequently appear on lists of the �top hotels in the world� assembled by travel and lifestyle publications. The firm has been designing hotels for 40 years from the earliest American motor inns to the earliest full-service resorts in Florida, Hawaii and Bali. In addition to its U.S. projects, KSLW has designed a full range of business and boutique hotels, golf and ski resorts and tropical resorts throughout the South Pacific, Japan and Indonesia.

�We knew we needed a proven hotel architectural firm to meet our aggressive design and construction schedule,� said Michael McCone, an architect and Director of Design and Construction for Park Place Hotel Company LLC. �KSLW has designed some of the top hotels in the world. In the pre-design phase of this project, they worked with us to create a spectacular guest-room layout.�

McCone said, �KSLW brings a resort design mentality to an urban hotel, and we feel that�s perfect for this market.�

�When the business person staying at The Ritz-Carlton, Irvine at Park Place has an opportunity to take a break from work, he or she will be tempted by the resort ambiance of what we believe will be the finest luxury hotel in Orange County,� said Ron Lindgren, Vice President of KSLW.

Construction on the hotel is expected to begin in April 2000 with the hotel opening in December 2001.
Among the innovations KSLW and Park Place Hotel Company LLC have planned for The Ritz-Carlton is the placement of bathrooms on the perimeter walls, a feature uncommon in the United States that allows natural light to flood into the bathrooms as well as the guests rooms. �Fresh air and light will not only be a big part of the guest rooms but also the public spaces such as the lobby, the restaurants and the spa facility,� McCone said.

The Ritz-Carlton, Irvine at Park Place is expected to be 16 stories high. The 11th floor will feature The Ritz-Carlton�s signature �Club Room� with an outdoor terrace. Among the guests rooms will be 32 elegant suites and a sumptuous presidential-style suite. The large spa facility will have a health-and-fitness component adjacent to the outdoor pool terrace. A rooftop, signature restaurant will complement garden and poolside restaurants.

Park Place is 105 acres of prime real estate in the heart of Orange County. It is being developed as a �city-within-a-city� and ultimately will provide a living-working-dining-entertainment experience unmatched in this area. Strategically located at the intersection of two major traffic corridors, the San Diego (405) Freeway and Jamboree Road, Park Place is in the middle of the Irvine Business Complex and only minutes away from John Wayne Airport and the University of California at Irvine. It also is in close proximity to the business and shopping centers of Fashion Island, the Irvine Spectrum and South Coast Plaza.

The Park Place Hotel Company LLC was formed to develop and own the super-luxury Irvine hotel. The hotel and a 600-plus-space parking structure will be constructed on approximately five acres of the Park Place Property. The parking structure will be owned by a separate company, Park Place Parking Company LLC, which currently also has under construction at Park Place a 770-space parking structure.
Today, a portion of Park Place contains approximately 1.8 million square feet of commercial office space in a 10-story office tower and six four-story atrium buildings owned by Jamboree LLC. A 300,000-square-foot, lusciously landscaped concourse building connects the office buildings. The buildings are currently the headquarters for Home Base and Air Touch Cellular among others.

Another portion of Park Place contains a retail and entertainment center, owned by Shops at Park Place LLC. In addition to a 10-screen Edwards cinema, the center includes a Houston�s Restaurant, a Ruth�s Chris Steak House and a California Pizza Kitchen. Other major retailers include Sport Chalet and Mother�s Market Kitchen.

When Park Place is fully developed over the next 15 years, it will contain more than 4 million square feet of commercial office, retail and residential space.