Washington Hilton Marks 45 Years

Hilton executives and 45-year hotel employees celebrate the hotel’s 45th anniversary and  the restoration of the original hotel name Washington Hilton. (Left to right) Hilton President of the Americas Joe Berger, Security Officer Clifton Roberts, Senior Banquet Captain Charlie Ragusa, Room Attendant Mary Johnson, and Washington Hilton General Manager Steve Cowan.

WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington Hilton recently celebrated its 45th anniversary and changed its name from Hilton Washington to Washington Hilton, as it was originally known in 1965. The hotel is set to complete a $140 million landmark restoration of the property in June. Washington Hilton has also been listed as a place of significance within the Washington Heights neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places. The transformation of the property includes a makeover of all 1,070 guest rooms, public areas, lobby, health club, restaurants, meeting rooms and function space.

The hotel features more than 110,000 square feet of event space, including one of the largest column-free ballrooms on the East Coast. washington.hilton.com

Nashville Breaks Ground For New Music City Center

“This is a great day for Nashville’s hospitality industry,” said Butch Spyridon, president of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau, on March 22nd, the day the groundbreaking ceremony was held on the site of the new Music Center in downtown Nashville. Dignitaries and officials who gathered for the ceremony included (left to right) Robert Patterson, chair-elect, Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors; Marty Dickens, chairman, Music City Center Authority; Nashville Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors; Nashville Mayor Karl Dean; John Graham, president and CEO, ASAE; Sharon Sullivan, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging; Becky Murray, Academy of General Dentistry; and Paul Wentzel, Academy of General Dentistry.

NASHVILLE, TN — Work began recently on the site of the new Music City Center in downtown Nashville. The new 1.2-million-square-foot Music City Center will more than double the downtown meeting and exhibit space available in the current convention center. The facility will feature a 350,000-square-foot exhibit hall acoustically designed to double as a concert hall, more than 50 meeting rooms, two ballrooms and approximately 36 loading docks. The center is scheduled for completion in early 2013. Convention planners have already booked 26 events representing more than 285,000 room nights. visitmusiccity.com

Cosmopolitan Of Las Vegas Under Construction

LAS VEGAS, NV — Following the settlement of a name dispute, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, a 2,995-room mixed-use development on the Las Vegas Strip, is moving forward toward an end of the year completion date. Hearst Corp., owner of Cosmopolitan magazine, sued Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas owner Deutsche Bank in 2008 over the use of the name. Details of the trademark infringement lawsuit, which was settled recently, were not available, but resulted in the official name of the development as Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The project also has had to weather financial difficulties. The project will include a convention center, 100,000-square-foot casino, 50,000-square-foot spa, restaurants and more.

Visit Milwaukee Names New President/CEO

MILWAUKEE, WI — After a nationwide search, Visit Milwaukee recently named Paul Upchurch as its new president and CEO. Upchurch joins Visit Milwaukee after some 30 years in the hospitality and tourism industry, including five years (2001–2005) as vice president of hotel operations with Milwaukee-based Marcus Hotels and Resorts. He most recently held the position of chief operating officer for Chicago-based TCA Holdings, operator of private sports resorts and clubs in the United States and Canada. visitmilwaukee.org

Hospitality And Events Industry Mourns Loss of Dave Hinton

CHICAGO, IL —Hinton+grusich (h+g), a national sales organization that represents upscale hotels, destinations and hospitality suppliers that serve the meetings industry, announced that its founder Dave Hinton passed away on March 22. A long-time figure of the hospitality and association community, Mr. Hinton served as president of hinton+grusich until his retirement in 2003. He began his hotel sales career in Washington, DC, at The Shoreham Hotel in 1966. An entrepreneur by nature, he and colleague Bill Grusich, who serves as the firm’s current president, launched hinton+grusich, one of the industry’s first hotel sales representation firms, in 1986. Colleagues, friends and family may visit a memorial Web site to share tribute to Mr. Hinton. www.respectance.com/Dave_Hinton

Norwegian Epic Offers 11 Dining Options

MIAMI, FL — Norwegian Cruise Line announced that its largest Freestyle Cruising ship to date, Norwegian Epic, will feature an extensive number of complimentary Freestyle dining options — 11 out of 21 total — that are included in the cruise fare. The additional 10 dining options will have a nominal cover charge. The 4,200-passenger ship, which will feature Blue Man Group in its first ever shipboard performances, is currently being built for delivery June 2010. epic.ncl.com

Harrah’s Cherokee Casino & Hotel To Open Events Center

CHEROKEE, NC — Harrah’s Cherokee Casino & Hotel unveiled plans for a new 3,000-seat Events Center making it a leading concert, events and entertainment venue in the region. Opening celebrations are scheduled for Labor Day Weekend 2010. Hosting top-tier talent across all genres, including country, comedy and rock, as well as sporting events and production shows, the non-smoking Events Center will have three levels. Among plans for the Events Center are four VIP suites, box seating and more than 1,000 balcony seats. Modular seating will be used for conventions, sports programming, catering and special events with access to a full banquet kitchen. The Events Center is part of a major $633 million expansion scheduled for completion in 2012 that will include the addition of a third 532-room tower, 18,000-square-foot spa, new restaurant and retail outlets, expansion of the casino floor and more. harrahs.com

The Broadmoor Continues Renovations

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — Renovations that began in December 2009 are continuing at The Broadmoor, focused in Broadmoor West and West Tower. All 148 guest rooms and suites in the West Tower now feature new furniture, fixtures and equipment including carpet, wall covering, fabrics, new higher-end furnishings and more. Renovations in The Broadmoor West lobby will include new carpet, paint and furnishings for the lobby and lobby bar, with expanded outdoor seating. The Broadmoor West also features newly renovated meeting rooms including new ceiling-mounted video projectors and drop-down video screens. Four new meeting/conference rooms were added along with a new prefunction area. broadmoor.com

Hyatt Regency Tamaya Named Top Spa

THE PUEBLO OF SANTA ANA, NM — The Tamaya Mist Spa & Salon at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa, located between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, was ranked as the 11th best resort spa in the country by Condé Nast Traveler.

The Hyatt Regency Tamaya is located on 500 acres on the Pueblo of Santa Ana, adjacent to the Sandia Mountains along the Rio Grande River. The resort also features The Stables at Tamaya; the 18-hole championship Twin Warriors Golf Club; signature restaurant, Corn Maiden; and the Tamaya Cultural Museum and Learning Center. tamaya.hyatt.com

JW Marriott Indianapolis Reaches Two Major Milestones

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — The JW Marriott Indianapolis, the largest JW Marriott in the world, has reached two major milestones: Bookings have surpassed 275,000 room nights, for a total of close to 400,000 room nights booked in the entire Marriott Place Indianapolis complex, and the glass facade of the building is now complete.

The blue glass facade is comprised of 7,300 blue-colored glass panels, forming a curtain wall around the tower. If laid end-to-end, the glass panels that make up the facade of the new JW Marriott Indianapolis would stretch nearly 14 miles. The 1,005-room hotel features the largest hotel ballroom in the Midwest. jwindy.com