Hotel renovations: Properties from Texas to California get major upgrades

It has been a busy summer for the hotel industry. Hotel owners and managers keep responding with a healthy clip of new renovations. Here are a few recent notable ones.

Little America Hotel Flagstaff

In celebration of its 45th anniversary this year, the Little America Hotel Flagstaff in Arizona has undergone an extensive renovation.

The 2½-year renovation transformed all 247 guest rooms – a mix of King, Double Queen and luxury suites – across its four lodges.

The property’s public areas, including its lobby, retail shop and Silver Pine Restaurant and Bar, have also been updated. The hotel has a new outdoor patio and more than 13,000 square feet of meeting space.

“Every detail of the hotel’s refurbishment has been carefully curated,” says Fred Reese, general manager of Little America Hotel.

The new room decor includes maple headboards and desks. Bathrooms now have full-length double mirrors, Spanish tile showers and granite vanities.

First opened in 1973, the Little America Hotel flagstaff is a popular spot for guests to explore nearby attractions such as the Grand Canyon, Red Rock State Park and the Ponderosa pine forest.

Grand Canyon National Park: Always more to see

The Bristol Hotel in San Diego

Greystone Hotels, which operates a collection of boutique hotels across California, has completed a $7 million renovation of The Bristol Hotel in San Diego.

All 102 guest rooms and bathrooms were remodeled. The top floor meeting and event space were converted into 12 new rooms and suites to create a 114-room hotel.

The property has a new state-of-the-art fitness center on the top floor. The hotel also now offers a complimentary continental breakfast in the former restaurant space on the ground floor just off the lobby.

“Drawing on The Bristol’s 1960s vintage architecture, the new design reflects the vibrant San Diego contemporary art and music scene of the 1960s,” says Eric Horodas, president of Greystone Hotels.

Boston-based design firm Perkins + Will oversaw the renovation. The hotel now has modern furnishings and a neutral color palette accented with bright pops of color.

Playful art by Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol and accents honoring The Beatles evoke the funky lifestyle of the 1960s. Guest rooms and suites have flat-screen televisions with media hubs that guests can use to stream content from their personal devices.  Some rooms have a vintage record player and authentic vinyl records from the 1960s. Guest bathrooms have spacious showers with rainfall shower heads, bathrobes and eco-friendly bath amenities.

Three suites on the ninth floor are each modeled after a landmark year during the 1960s. One pays homage to the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. The second suite is devoted to The Beatles and their 1965 concert at San Diego’s Balboa Stadium. The third suite commemorates the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. All guest rooms feature an accent pillow made to look like a 1965 Balboa Stadium concert ticket.

San Diego, so close yet so far from L.A.

Dallas Marriott Las Colinas

This hotel was one of the first hotels built in the master-planned community of Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, within the Dallas Metroplex. It has now completed the first phase of a multimillion-dollar renovation that includes updates of its guest rooms.

Phase two of the project is now underway. That includes upgrades of public and meeting spaces, the restaurant, bar/lounge and Marriott signature Greatroom lobby. All renovations will be finished by fall of this year.  

The new guest rooms have a warm color palette reflecting the Bluebonnets of the prairie landscape and the oranges of the nightly sunsets.

All 364 guest rooms, including three presidential suites, have been renovated to include wood, metal and leather, paying homage to the ranching history of Las Colinas.

Some rooms have balconies overlooking Lake Carolyn. The three Parlor Suites have more than 750 square feet of living space.

Entertainers such as Chris Isaak and Steely Dan and actresses such as Geena Davis and the late Carrie Fisher have stayed at the Dallas Marriott Las Colinas.

Explore Dallas one margarita at a time

Hotel Californian in Santa Barbara

The Hotel Californian opened late last year in a building in Santa Barbara that was originally built in 1925. The same week that it opened, a massive earthquake struck and destroyed part of the building.

It was rebuilt and operated successfully for many years. But eventually it was left abandoned for nearly 20 years.

Now it has been transformed into this five-star resort on State and Mason streets by developer Michael Rosenfeld and his private investors.

It is in the heart of the revitalization of Santa Barbara’s waterfront Funk Zone, with its wine and craft beer tasting rooms, hip eateries, art galleries and murals, design-forward shops and more.

Its 121 guest rooms and suites offer ocean views, custom furnishings from Martyn Lawrence Bullard, tile and bronze oil-rubbed bath fixtures and balconies in some rooms.

The newly renovated destination rooftop pool and lounge offers ocean, coastline and mountain views.

The hotel has a Moroccan-inspired Spa Majorelle. Guests can also dine at Blackbird restaurant.