HOLLYWOOD, FL? For a property that has a legendary hotel name, the new Diplomat Resort Country Club & Spa will be a ?hotel of the future,? according to its managing director, Michael Hall. From its soaring 125-foot lobby atrium topped with a wave-like glass ceiling to the cabling that will bring high-speed Internet access to its 1,000 guestrooms, when the property opens in 2001 it will have all the bells and whistles a $600 million project demands. Owned by the pension fund of the United Association of Plumbers, Pipe Fitters and Sprinklefitters, the state-of-the-art hotel is just one planned component of an overall project being phased in on the site of the original Diplomat, a south Florida destination for 40 years before it was imploded in 1998. ?Originally, we wanted to renovate the newest of the two old Diplomat hotel buildings and tear everything else down, but we determined very quickly it couldn?t be saved,? said Hall. ?It had been closed for eight years and some of it had been underwater? terrible condition. So, we doubled our budget and decided to build a new hotel.? On March 15, the country club, including 60 guestrooms, opened to the public. The entire project will encompass 12 oceanfront acres and 13 acres on the Intracoastal Waterway, plus another 155 acres designated for a golf course which is also open. Condominiums are also under development. The 139-unit condominium concept developed gradually, said Hall. As for the 1,000-room hotel, when working with the architect in trying to determine what kind of public space was needed for a 1,000-room hotel? a convention headquarters hotel? the 200,000-plus square feet of space we had planned on just did not fit in the new building, so it was appropriate to build our own convention center.? Hall said the decision to build such a large hotel and ?great room? was driven by potential for convention business, particularly union conventions that require large classroom-style setups, but not exhibit space. He added the 53,000-square-foot hall has already been reserved by several groups. The nautically inspired resort complex is being phased in. The now open Diplomat Country Club features a European-style spa, 8,000 square feet of meeting space, a 6,700-yard Joe Lee-designed golf course, two restaurants, 10 clay tennis courts, and yacht slips. With a barrel-tile roof and striped awnings, the 111,400-square-foot club is reminiscent of a northern Italian villa and features a reflecting pool and patio courtyard. ?It?s one of the handsomest buildings in Florida,? said Hall. ?You look at it and know that in 100 years, it will still be a great building.? Boca Raton-based Carole Korn Interiors designed guestrooms in tones of green and gold, with touches of Spanish and Italian marble; bathrooms offer glass-bowl sinks. A plantation-style pass-through window and balcony are other room features. A 30,000-square-foot destination spa connects to the guestrooms via a second-story bridge. Hall calculated a $325 ADR for the Country Club rooms; he expects an ADR of $250 for the main hotel rooms, with six months to stabilization. ?Among our challenges is getting it built quickly and getting a return on investment for the pension fund,? said Hall. The fund purchased the property for $40 million in 1997. The new 39-story Diplomat will feature a dual-tower main building with 12-story center portal that visually connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Intracoastal Waterway. The aerodynamic architectural design executed by Miami-based Sandy & Babcock reflects the international style of Modernism and abstract nautical imagery with sail-shaped concepts will run throughout the resort complex. A skywalk will span state road A1A to connect to a retail/restaurant complex fronting the Intracoastal Waterway, where water taxis will be available to ferry guests to the golf course and country club. Technology Built In While the resort is expansive, Hall noted part of the technology being layered in is an
