The hotel is spending $15 million to redecorate the building exterior, hotel entrance, lobby, Ocean Cafe, lobby bar and all 340 guestrooms with help from Santa Monica-based Hirsch Bedner interior design company.  The property remains in full operation throughout the construction. All public areas will be complete by June, and guestrooms in the first quarter of 2001. Systematic planning insures minimal guest disturbance.  �With our entertainment-based clientele, we want to offer a �home-away-from-home� atmosphere and bring a fresh look to the beach,� said Laveroni.

The breezy updated design features 45-foot palm trees inside the four-story atrium lobby with flowing fabric draped from the ceiling. Guests feel instantly in tune with the hotel�s contemporary California casual ambiance.  Complementing the hotel�s vibrant look is the new exterior color scheme of continental cream-yellow with blue awnings. The porte cochere will be replaced with a grand yellow canvas awning.  The current lobby bar will be replaced by Papillion, a lounge and �reading room� facing the ocean and pool where guests can unwind over aperitifs, small tapas-style dishes and afternoon tea amidst panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean through floor-to-ceiling windows. Papillion will serve as the setting for the hotel�s �Visiting Artist Series� scheduled to resume in July.

Refurbishment of the pool deck includes new chaise lounges, more palm trees and removal of the pool�s glass dome, creating a more open space, drawing the ocean and sky seemingly closer.  Guestrooms will receive a dramatic facelift with new drapes, wall coverings, furniture and bedding in warm, residential tones, mirroring the hotel�s fresh spirit. Staying at the forefront of guest conveniences, guestrooms are �workspace friendly,� outfitted with contemporary executive desks, floor lamps, artwork and 90-channel televisions with Internet capabilities.

Lavande, the hotel�s award-winning restaurant, will remain unchanged during the redecoration, as well as the Pritikin Longevity Center Spa.

Keeping in step with Loews Hotels� Good Neighbor Policy, Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel will donate previously used furniture from the hotel�s redecoration to the parents� and teachers� lounges at John Muir Grade School, Santa Monica.

Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel is managed by Loews Hotels for its owners, Strategic Hotel Capital, a Chicago-based limited partnership. Loews Hotels currently owns and/or operates 14 hotels and resorts in the U.S.  and Canada.

As part of the largest expansion in the chain�s 54-year history, the company has recently opened four new properties, with three more in various stages of development. These include the first ever House of Blues Hotel, a Loews Hotel -- a 367-room property located in Chicago�s Marina City that opened in October 1998; and the opening of the 800-room Loews Miami Beach Hotel in December.

And, as part of a joint venture with Universal, Inc. and the Rank Organisation, Loews Hotels opened the first of three hotels located at Universal Orlando. The 750-room Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando, a Loews Hotel, opened in September 1999.
April 5 marked the opening of the 585-room Loews Philadelphia Hotel�a conversion of the landmark PSFS building there. That will be followed by the 650-room Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando, a Loews Hotel, in December 2000; and the 1,000-room Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando, a Loews Hotel, in 2001.  Most recently, Loews announced the development of the 432-room Loews Boston Hotel in the city�s theater district, which is scheduled to open in 2002.