Starwood Adds St. Regis Flag To Two More Hotels

WHITE PLAINS, NY? Starwood Hotels and Resorts is establishing the St. Regis name as the flagship brand within its Luxury Collection. The company announced the first of many hotel conversions last month. The former Carlton Hotel in Washington is being turned into a St. Regis property, with completion expected this month; and the former Ritz-Carlton in Houston is being converted to a St. Regis in May. Several other St. Regis properties are being converted both domestically and internationally as part of the company?s on-going strategy to build St. Regis into a premier luxury hotel brand, company officials said. With the most recent announcements, there are three St. Regis hotels. The 192-room former Carlton is a Washington, DC landmark hotel located at the corner of 16th and K streets. It was constructed more than 70 years ago by entrepreneur Harry Wardman, was modeled after an Italian palazzo, and designed by Mihran Mesrobian, a Turkish architect. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. In 1995, the hotel underwent $25 million in renovations. ?We are proud to announce yet another St. Regis Hotel, one which will provide world class service and style to visitors during their stay in our nation?s capital,? said Juergen Bartels, CEO of Starwood?s Hotel Group, in a statement. ?The name St. Regis is a world-renowned, integral part of our history, delivering to its distinguished clientele a benchmark of personalized service and unending attention to detail.? That attention to detail includes butler service, which is a hallmark of the St. Regis brand, according to the company. The hotel will offer guests the option of booking a room on select Astor Floors that have the butlers, who are fluent in at least one other language. The service includes butler-served refreshments, help with unpacking guests? luggage, in planning dinner parties or coordinating special amenities. The butler will also be available to collect clothes that need pressing or shoes that need polishing. Aside from butler service, the hotel has 24-hour room service, a fitness suite and concierge service. The three St. Regis hotels are under Starwood?s Luxury Collection, which is comprised of hotels that offer guests a ?seamless integration of the customs, culture and environment of its locale,? according to the company. The next property to join the Luxury Collection as a St. Regis will be the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia, which will be converted later this year. The 290-room hotel opened as a Ritz-Carlton in 1990. It features 10 private dining and meeting rooms as well as a 7,500-square-foot ballroom. ?We recognized from the start that the hotels in the Luxury Collection were unique? some are former palaces with a history dating back to the 14th century, and some the most modern of resorts? and we knew that their clientele would require a special level of hospitality and service,? said Douglas McKenzie, vp and brand manager for the Luxury Collection. ?For this reason, we have continued our meticulous search for additional hotels and resorts around the world to enhance the collection, and to introduce programs and services that deliver the level of individual attention which guests at these hotels expect.? In February, the Kapalua Bay Hotel on Hawaii?s Maui island joined the Luxury Collection. In May the Hotel Kamp in Finland will join the collection. In June, the Herods Vitalis in Eilat, Israel will also join. At least one more St. Regis conversion is in the works, according to the company. In 1997, the former Ritz- Carlton in Aspen was re-flagged as a St. Regis. The original St. Regis is located in New York City, a Beaux Arts designed hotel that was built by John Jacob Astor in 1904.