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And Then There Were Two

Sep. 24, 2012

Houston First has narrowed the field of candidates vying to build a new 1,000-room convention center hotel down to two. Rida Development and TRT Holdings/Omni Hotel were chosen out of 11 groups that originally responded to a request for proposals, according to the Houston Chronicle. Rida Development is a Houston-based developer that's built major hotels and other projects in Texas, Florida and eastern Europe. TRT Holdings is a Irving-based holding company whose assets include Omni Hotels &…

Sorella Earns Top Honor Among Lifestyle Properties

Sep. 21, 2012

Score another accolade for Hotel Sorella in CityCentre. The three-year-old boutique West Houston property was named Lifestyle Hotel of the Year at the Boutique & Lifestyle Hospitality Awards this week. The awards, handed out by the Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association at its annual event in Miami, honor properties in six categories. Sorella took the top spot in the lifestyle category. The Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach took Boutique Hotel of the Year and Jonathan Plutzik, principal owner of…

11 Teams Say They Want to Build New Convention Center Hotel

Apr. 24, 2012

Houston First Corp. says it's received 11 responses to a request for qualifications (RFQ) for a developer to build a second convention center hotel near the George R. Brown Convention Center. The deadline for the RFQ was April 20. The development-design teams that met the deadline include: • Discovery Central Development Team • Hines • Houston Now • Matthews Southwest • Mortenson • Parkway Service Group, LLC • Product Marketing International • Rida Development • Trammell Crow • TRT…

Courtyard Houston Hobby gets $2.3M Upgrade

Mar. 26, 2012

With $2.3 million in improvements now complete, it's a new day for the Courtyard Houston Hobby Airport. Updates have been made to the 153-room hotel's lobby, guest rooms and services. Welcoming pedestals have replaced the traditional front desk--an effort to increase guest interaction and speed the check-in process. There's also a new high-tech GoBoard in the lobby, a large touchscreen HDTV that offers guests news headlines, sports scores, directions to local businesses, flight updates and…

Moody Gardens Hotel to get $20M Upgrade

Mar. 15, 2012

One of region's largest resort properties is getting a facelift. Work will begin this summer on $20 million in upgrades at Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa & Convention Center on Galveston Island. The 428-room property completed in 1998 will see improvements in both guest rooms and common areas. Officials with the hotel say the renovation is necessary to maintain the AAA Four-Diamond rating. The hotel and attached convention center are on the property of Moody Gardens, the 156-acre family…

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