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| I-Drive to land region's first InterContinental luxury hotel |
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I-Drive to land region's first InterContinental luxury hotelChristopher Boyd
Sentinel Staff Writer
March 16, 2006
A Fort Lauderdale developer announced plans Wednesday to build a 1,260-room InterContinental hotel on Lake Bryan about four miles from the Orange County Convention Center.
The luxury hotel, which would be the largest InterContinental in the world and the first in Orlando, will be called Palazzo del Lago. Hospitality Development Group, the developer, plans to begin construction this fall.
The 14-story hotel is expected to open in early 2009 at a cost of $800 million. The resort also would contain 994 units in five 18-story towers called the Villas at Palazzo del Lago, condominiums with prices starting at more than $300,000.
The hotel, on International Drive, would join a growing number of luxury hotels that cater to business travelers and well-off tourists.
"We are looking for a mix of leisure and business travelers," said Jerrold R. Krystoff, Hospitality Development's chief executive officer. "We are looking for whatever business the convention center will bring us, but we also want to appeal to the leisure traveler."
Hospitality Development plans to sell 585 rooms in the hotel to investors, with unit prices starting at more than $400,000. Selling rooms as condominiums is an increasingly popular financing method.
Krystoff, who began assembling the 42-acre site in the late 1990s, said InterContinental's decision to operate the hotel was a coup.
InterContinental has 136 hotels in 60 countries, and is the luxury brand of InterContinental Hotels Group, based in Windsor, England. There are two other InterContinentals in Florida, both in Miami-Dade County. InterContinental also controls the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza brands.
Palazzo del Lago, which in Italian means palace on the lake, would have 114,000 square feet of meeting space, a large spa, five restaurants and a beach on Lake Bryan.
Kirk Kinsell, InterContinental Hotel Group's development officer for the Americas, said southwest Orlando is a natural location for a new luxury hotel.
"We wanted to be located close to a demand center like the convention center," Kinsell said. "Demand is a huge factor. We are well aware that the Peabody [Orlando] has been very successful and we are aware of its plans to expand."
The Peabody, which faces the convention center, expects to announce a major expansion in the next several months. Other hotels, including the 1,500-room Rosen Shingle Creek Resort and the recently announced 1,300-room Blue Rose Resort on Universal Drive, also are close to the convention center.
Tom Ackert, the convention center's executive director, said demand for top-flight hotel rooms remains strong. But he said developing expensive resorts such as the Palazzo del Lago is difficult.
"We think it is a very good thing," Ackert said. "We are curious to see how it moves forward. These things are expensive to get moving."
Abe Pizam, dean of the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida, said the proposed hotel's location could prove to be a problem if conventions are to be a key part of its business.
"Meeting planners want something within walking distance or a short shuttle ride," Pizam said.
But InterContinental's Kinsell, who calls hotels within walking distance of a convention center "beer and badge" hotels, said families traveling with conventioneers would find a full-fledged resort such as Palazzo del Lago desirable.
"Family members don't want to be in a beer and badge center hotel while a convention is going on," Kinsell said. "This will have the amenities they want."
Christopher Boyd can be reached at cboyd@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5723. |
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