Spa and Hotel news from SpaCast.com. Part of Spa Index Media Network.

New Plan To Save LA's Century Plaza Hotel & Spa

In June 2009, when the threat of demolition still loomed large, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Century Plaza Hotel & Spa (Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel and the Spa at Equinox) in Los Angeles one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

Last week, the developer who owns the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles revealed plans to renovate the hotel and build condominium and offices behind the 1966 structure. Michael Rosenfeld of Next Century Associates had initially planned to tear down the 800,000-square-foot hotel, designed by Minoru Yamasaki, who later designed the World Trade Center in New York City.

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About Century Plaza's Spa at Equinox: 
Located adjacent to the pool at Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, the spa offers both fitness and relaxation services. Based on traditional and modern therapies and a holistic approach to wellness, the Spa at Equinox Century Plaza is designed to make you look and feel your best.  18 treatment rooms, two Thai rooms, three facial rooms, three body treatment rooms and a manicure/pedicure suite.

Greenbrier spa resort to begin gambling this month

The chink of poker chips now is accompanying the clink of teacups at the elegant Greenbrier Resort. West Virginia officials cleared the historic White Sulphur Springs spa resort to begin offering gaming Thursday. Its new owner OK'd the eight blackjack tables, one three-card poker table, a roulette wheel and 40 slot machines due later this month.

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St. Regis Monarch Beach seized by Citigroup

The seizure of the St. Regis Monarch Beach, where American International Group Inc. sponsored a luxury retreat just days after accepting a federal bailout, is the most dramatic sign yet of the deep troubles in the market for high-end hotels.

Citigroup Inc. took over the Dana Point hotel and golf course Monday after months of negotiations over a $70-million loan that was in default. A foreclosure auction slated for today was canceled after the lender realized there would be no serious bids for the property, according to a knowledgeable person who was not authorized to discuss the situation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The takeover comes at a time of severe contraction in the hospitality industry.

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Arizona Biltmore Moves Forward with $600 Million Renovation

The currently anemic state of the hospitality sector has been well documented for some time now. Doubly stung by a sharp slowdown in both business travel and tourism—as well as the financing problems that have plagued the commercial property sector as a whole—it seems clear that the sector is in the midst of one of its toughest periods ever. The struggling state of the market, though, is apparently not discouraging the owners of the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa from moving ahead with a planned $600 million renovation project. Also undeterred is the Phoenix City Council, which okayed the plan late last week.

That's not to say that the resort's owners—a partnership between Morgan Stanley, Pyramid Advisors, and Investment Partners—are blind to the current market realities. The renovation is largely dependent on future market and economic conditions. The only component of the overall plan that is currently on any set time schedule is the $120 million first phase, which will consist of the addition of a major new spa facility. The design of the spa will hit the drawing boards of architectural firm Gensler immediately, with groundbreaking planned for as early as late 2010.

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The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa Introduces Elixir for Economic Woes

The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa recently launched Grove's Magical Elixer 2.0 Campaign. The Resort has returned to its historic roots and developed a new viral marketing campaign and website celebrating Founder Edwin W. "EW" Grove's infamous elixirs and tonics that eased the daily challenges of the human body and spirit. The campaign uses this metaphor by highlighting the Resort's offerings as modern day "Elixirs" for various ailments, including woes associated with the current economic climate.

Grove was a druggist, who made millions with his concoctions in the 1890s, selling more bottles of "Grove's Tasteless Tonic", than Coca Cola(R). With his great success, Grove realized his dream of building a place for relaxation and rejuvenation. Working side by side with 400 men, he built a place that offers the comfort of home and the luxury of a resort, The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa in Asheville, North Carolina.

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Iconic Arizona lodge owners hope expansion will attract visitors

With room rates topping $500 a night in peak season for its signature creekside cottages, the exclusive L'Auberge de Sedona Resort  attracts a wealthy, well-traveled crowd.   Guests check in with ultrahigh expectations, expectations that hotel officials admit haven't been universally met as the 25-year-old resort showed its age in recent years. "Stale," "dated" and "old" are words sprinkled in reviews posted in the past year on TripAdvisor.com, a popular travel-review site.   L'Auberge's new owner hopes to erase any negative impressions - and attract a new generation of fans - by plowing $25 million into a major renovation and expansion.

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Prewar glamour returning to Polish health spa

For more than 100 years, aristocrats and artists came to the mountain health resort of Szczawnica Zdroj in search of cures. ... But this idyllic retreat founded in 1820 was wiped out by World War II and subsequent decades of communism ... (a)nd in the declining years of Moscow's influence, this picturesque clear-air haven in southern Poland, cradled in a valley between the Beskidy and Pieniny mountains, fell into disrepair.

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