DENVER -- Luxury is
no stranger to the mountain resorts west of here. But the Mile High
City itself has long been void of top-tier hotels.
That will change
this fall when the Ritz-Carlton, Denver opens downtown, becoming
the city's first five-star hotel.
The hotel,
scheduled to open in November, is a rare breed for Denver, but it's
also a rare event for Ritz-Carlton, which has been focusing on
global expansion.
Last week,
Ritz-Carlton opened its first Texas property, in Dallas, the
company's first new domestic property in nearly four
years.
Four other
Ritz-Carlton hotels scheduled to open this year are in
international cities: Tokyo, Moscow, Beijing and Dublin. Another
U.S. property, a Ritz-Carlton in White Plains, N.Y., is scheduled
to open next year.
In Denver, the
Ritz-Carlton will raise the bar for upscale hotels in the city that
will host the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Four Seasons and
Starwood have also announced plans to build hotels in
Denver.
Richard Scharf,
president and CEO of the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors
Bureau, said the city eagerly anticipated "the upcoming additions
of marquee brands such as Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and W" because
of its impact on Denver's image.
Scharf called the
rapid development of the upscale hotel segment in Denver a sign
that the city had "moved into the top tier of American
cities."
Michael King,
general manager of the Denver, Ritz-Carlton, said the company,
which has hotels at the Beaver Creek and Aspen ski resorts, had
wanted a presence in Denver for a long time.
"The timing for us
to be here couldn't be better, as there is so much demand and
excitement about the city," King said. "The city is now a key
meetings destination."
The Ritz-Carlton,
Denver is near the city's financial district; the mile-long,
pedestrian 16th Street Mall; and the Lower Downtown Historic
District, a shopping, dining and nightclub area known as LoDo to
Denver residents.
The hotel said it
would have 202 of the largest guest rooms in the city and 47
suites. It will have meetings rooms, a 6,200-square-foot ballroom
and Elway's Colorado Steakhouse, named after John Elway, the former
Denver Broncos quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Famer. The
restaurant will be the second Elway's Colorado Steakhouse in the
city.
In Texas,
meanwhile, the Ritz-Carlton, Dallas is housed in a 218-room,
21-story building on McKinney Avenue, within walking distance of
the American Airlines Center and near a newly announced stop for
the McKinney Avenue Trolley, which will provide free service to the
uptown area's shopping and dining.
The hotel has a
luxury ballroom, spa and a restaurant by Dean Fearing, an expert on
haute Southwest cuisine.
In addition to its
new hotels, Ritz-Carlton recently announced a push to invest more
than $1 billion to upgrade properties around the world, including a
$110 million renovation of the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua in
Maui.
A three-year
capital improvement plan for all hotels will include in-room
enhancements such as flat-screen televisions, bedding with higher
thread counts, gourmet coffeemakers and wireless Internet
access.
To
contact reporter Jeri Clausing, send e-mail to [email protected].