HRI Lodging now manages three of Interwest Capital’s properties, including the Hyatt Place New Orleans/Convention Center and the Hampton Inn & Suites Birmingham-Downtown-Tutwiler.
“This resort’s rich history represents a great fit to our portfolio of historic branded and boutique hotels,” stated Gary Gutierrez, president of HRI Lodging.
Dr. Alexander J. Chandler founded the town that bears his name southeast of Phoenix in 1912 and constructed the San Marcos there as part of a master design to create a totally planned community. Arthur Bennett Benton, an architect from Southern California, designed the resort in the Mission Revival Design. One of the identifying design features of the resort was the pergolas that framed the building and formed a shady passageway.
The San Marcos opened for business in 1913 with full resort amenities, including golf, tennis, horseback riding and polo. Grace Perley Robinson managed the property, and her husband, Will H. Robinson, designed and built the resort’s 100-acre golf course in 1913. One year later, the course was seeded with Bermuda grass and became the first grass golf course in Arizona.
Five hundred people attended the grand opening on November 22, 1913, including then U.S. Vice President Thomas Marshall. The San Marcos became a place where the rich and famous flocked to year after year. At the time of its opening, the resort offered 35 guestrooms, a lobby, dining room, ballroom, retail shops, and administrative offices.
The Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort now offers 248 rooms and more than 35,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space. Amenities include dining, an outdoor pool, a 24-hour business center, a fitness center and a golf pro shop. The property’s USGA championship golf course features 18 holes, complete with a driving range. The course will undergo $3.5 million in renovations during the summer.