Caribe Royale Orlando, an expansive all-suite convention hotel located in Central Florida, is about to get even bigger. The company revealed that it is in the midst of a $125 million phased renovation that will include a complete renovation of all of its one-bedroom suites, the addition of a grand ballroom and a new lobby featuring extensive lighting upgrades and a dramatic new arrival experience. Construction has commenced on the ballroom and completion is expected in spring 2021.
“The property serves a client mix of leisure and business, with business guests over the years becoming increasingly important to the successful resort operation,” said Linda Snyder, principal, Linda Snyder Associates, responsible for the suite renovation. “To better serve the comfort, multi-task and technology needs of today’s well-traveled guests the resort is repositioning as a rated 4-diamond destination.”
Phased renovations to Caribe Royale’s 1,215 one-bedroom suites will focus on only one of the resort’s three towers at a time to eliminate disruptions for guests.
Designed in a classic Floridian style inspired by the Captiva Island-based works of American painter and graphic artist Robert Rauschenberg, the complete suite renovations will involve all hard and soft goods, from floors to bathrooms to window treatments to light fixtures, plus enhancements to guest-preferred amenities, including 55” flat-screen TVs, mini-fridges, coffee makers and more electrical outlets. The first tower of newly-renovated suites is expected to open in spring 2021.
“I visited a retrospective exhibition of the artist, Robert Rauschenberg, at exactly the time of initiating the design. The exhibition, The ¼ Mile, was an exciting series of artworks produced over 17 years featuring images the artist encountered in his daily ¼ mile walk from home to his studio on Captiva Island, FL. The iconic pattern, colors and details (birds and vegetation, people, and architecture) layer upon one another to create a classic Floridian guest experience,” Snyder noted.
Snyder added that the colors in the flora and fauna as well as the atmospheric light of the tropical environment influenced the fresh, light palette for the renovation.
“We have layered pattern within the guestrooms in imaginative ways that forego the need for accent pillows, allowing us to minimize frequent touch items, and have eliminated carpets in the guestrooms in favor of hard surface flooring to assure a clean and safe environment,” she said.
The all-new 50,000-sq.-ft. grand ballroom will bring Caribe Royale’s total meeting space to 220,000 sq. ft. and expand the resort’s offerings for meeting planners and event specialists. In addition to the grand ballroom, the variety of indoor and outdoor meeting spaces includes three other flexible ballrooms, 54 spacious breakout rooms, three executive boardrooms, 120 fully renovated lakeside villas suited for small breakout sessions and poolside venues. All meeting rooms offer an in- house audiovisual provider and both hard-wired and wireless internet connections.
“Guest convenience is paramount in the design, with fast charging ports available at work, seating and sleeping areas and interface for guest devices to smart TV’s incorporated into the furniture design,” Snyder said. “Surfaces for luggage access and guest storage at the closets, bedrooms and sitting rooms is integrated into the design. Large showers in the guest baths are accentuated with full feature tile walls, illuminated mirrors and custom shelving units to meet the storage needs of business guests and families alike.”
