A Look at Hotel Projects in the Works

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—Hotel developments are shaping up in major cities here and overseas. Here’s a look at the projects underway:

Viceroy Washington DC to Debut This Summer
Viceroy Hotels & Resorts is set to open Viceroy Washington DC this summer. The 178-room hotel is in the Logan Circle neighborhood. Acquired as Mason & Rook Hotel by Pebblebrook Hotel Trust in late 2018, Viceroy Washington DC will join The Viceroy Lifestyle Series, the portfolio’s first property to open in the Washington metropolitan area.

Viceroy Hotels & Resorts tapped EDG Interior Architecture + Design to concept the hotel’s design. There’s a revamped restaurant and bar that will feature a glass enclosure around the patio for guests to enjoy year-round, in addition to a rooftop bar and pool. The hotel will also have 5,000 sq. ft. of newly renovated meeting and event space, including a 1,695-sq.-ft. ballroom.

Dream Hotel Group to Expand to San Antonio
Dream Hotel Group has plans to open Dream San Antonio in 2023. Located along the River Walk in downtown San Antonio, Dream San Antonio will have 217 guestrooms and suites, multiple dining and nightlife venues, including a rooftop pool deck, bar and lounge, and two restaurants, fitness facilities and 10,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting space.

Conceptualized by architecture and design firm CUBE3 Architects, when open, the boutique hotel will be the centerpiece of a mixed-use development that includes office space and private residences, transforming a full city block into a communal gathering place for hotel guests and locals alike.

Coming Soon: Homewood Suites by Hilton Downtown Bellevue
West77 Partners and The Hotel Group (THG) have revealed the new Homewood Suites by Hilton Downtown Bellevue, located in Bellevue, WA, is scheduled to break ground during the winter of 2020/21. West77 Partners, the project developer, has selected The Hotel Group to manage the 224-room Homewood Suites by Hilton when it opens in 2022. The property will be located adjacent to West77 Partners’ 254-room Hilton Garden Inn and will represent one of the final phases of development on the Washington Square Superblock.

The property will have upscale, all-suite accommodations with separate living and sleeping areas and fully equipped kitchens. The hotel will have an indoor pool, fitness center, outdoor patio, meeting space and a gaming/entertainment room. Johnson Braund has been chosen as the architect for the property and Absher Construction for pre-construction services. This property will be located in the heart of downtown Bellevue close to Seattle’s city center.

St. Regis Brand Planned for New Administrative Capital of Egypt
Marriott International Inc. has signed an agreement to open a St. Regis in the New Administrative Capital of Egypt, just outside of Cairo. In the second quarter of this year, The St. Regis Almasa is expected to occupy an existing luxury hotel at the entrance of the up-and-coming city that is slated to become the administrative and financial hub of Egypt.

With the population of greater Cairo expected to double in the next few decades, the government in Egypt has plans to build the New Administrative Capital. Almasa Royal Palace, which the owner has operated for the past two years, is located adjacent to a 42,000-sq.-ft. convention center that hosts official government conventions and events, as well as official foreign presidents’ visits.

The hotel consists of 270 rooms, 90 suites, 60 apartments and 14 villas. Other facilities include outdoor and indoor swimming pools, a gym, spa, club house and 20 food and beverage outlets. Through a phased approach, areas across the hotel will undergo a refresh while remaining open to guests.

City of Raleigh Issues RFI for 500+ Room Convention Hotel
The City of Raleigh has released a request for information (RFI) for an upper-upscale, full-service convention hotel and a separate office/mixed-use building on two city-owned, vacant lots in downtown Raleigh, NC. The goal of the RFI is to seek interested developers for the hotel and office/mixed-use sites. The City of Raleigh contracted with Jones Lang LaSalle IP Inc. (JLL) to complete the RFI as the first step in the process to ultimately seek a partner to develop the Fayetteville St. sites.

The sites are located across from the Raleigh Convention Center and Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. The timing of the RFI also coincides with the interior updates planned for the center in 2020-2021. The need for a 400+ room, full-service convention hotel was validated by two recent studies completed. Following submission of proposals from development teams, JLL and staff will review the proposals and recommend to Raleigh City Council the next steps which are expected to include a more specific Request for Proposals (RFP) process from the selected developer finalist. The submission and review process is expected to take until late spring/early summer to complete.