DALLAS— The next couple of years are shaping up to be very busy ones for Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. The management company, based here, is focusing on expanding both globally and domestically and that initiative is well underway with the planned addition of four new properties. Robert Boulogne, COO, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, reported that the company will assume management of two properties within the U.S. that are scheduled for completion within the next two years. Ground has already been broken for The Mansion on Peachtree, A Rosewood Hotel. The 42-story condo-hotel will feature 127 guestrooms and is being designed by Robert Stern, who is famous for his residential work. “No expense is being spared at the property in terms of quality and attention to detail,” said Boulogne, who noted the property will also include a 14,000-square-foot spa, an 80-seat restaurant within the hotel and a 100-seat restaurant in located in the mansion just in front of the hotel. “It will be very much like The Mansion on Turtle Creek here in Dallas and will offer exquisite quality and the latest technology,” he said. Completion of The Mansion on Peachtree is scheduled for 2008. On the West Coast, plans are well under way for The Rosewood Sandhill in Menlo Park, CA, which is just one mile from Stanford University. “We were approached by Stanford University to bring a sort of ‘six-star’ experience to Menlo Park,” said Boulogne, who added the proposed hotel also fit within Rosewood’s expansion strategy. “It’s a very nice tie-in to our plan to establish a presence in the California market. Specifically, the Silicon Valley area has experienced a bit of a resurgence lately.” Set to break ground this fall, The Rosewood Sandhill is slated to open with 120 guestrooms in mid-2008. “It will have a very low scape— only two stories— and will offer spectacular, unobstructed views of the mountains,” said Boulogne. Because of its proximity to Stanford University, he noted the layout of the hotel will “have a bit of a campus feel and will include outdoor fireplaces, pools and a 15,000-square-foot spa. We’re creating a sort of urban resort— it’s very different from anything we’ve ever done.” He added that the hotel will be one of the few properties in Rosewood’s portfolio that does not have a residential component. On the international stage, Rosewood is actively pursuing expansion in Mexico. Boulogne reported construction of The Rosewood Mayakoba in Mexico’s Riviera Maya is well underway with a planned September 2007 opening. The company has already enjoyed success in Mexico with Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort in Los Cabos. “We’ve built an incredible reputation at Las Ventanas and we like when we can cluster properties [in a region],” he said. The new resort will feature 120 suites, a spa and a championship golf course. In the Middle East, Rosewood is busily preparing to open its third hotel in Saudi Arabia. Despite some construction delays, Corniche is scheduled to open in the first quarter of next year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The hotel will offer 101 guestrooms and 26 suites as well as a rooftop pool overlooking the Red Sea. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Boulogne said Rosewood is exploring opportunities in Dubai and Bahrain. In addition to the four new properties, Boulogne reported the company is also trying to close in on key gateway cities in the U.S. such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C. “We’re in conversations with developers in most of those areas,” he said, adding Rosewood is also concentrating on unique resort destinations such as Colorado, which would be a potential location for a ski resort. “Internationally, we’re also looking at gateway cities such as London, Paris and Milan,” he added. Despite its strategy to broaden its portfolio, Boulogne said a realistic goal going forward is to have “one or two quality projects per year…we always keep our ability to effectively execute in mind.”
