The Crowne Plaza Hotel at the Crossings in Warwick is in the final phase of a $6 million renovation project in which all the guest rooms were redecorated and upgraded, and in June, it’s embarking on another project to add 113 rooms.
“With the addition and total renovation, we’re looking forward to becoming the premier meetings destination for Rhode Island,” said J. Rudi Heater, the hotel’s general manager.
The Crowne Plaza already has the largest hotel-based meeting and banquet facilities in the state, with 34,000 square feet of available space. That addition, opened in September 2001, has been “a tremendous success” that exceeded expectations, he said.
The response to that addition also inspired a “shift in the overall vision” toward hosting more groups and conventions as a total percentage of the occupancy of the hotel, Heater said.
“We want to utilize our first-class meeting and banquet space but are undersized to host,” he said. The upcoming addition, a 15-month project slated to be completed in the fall of 2008, is meant to alleviate that problem. Heater said he couldn’t say how much it will cost, because the work is still being priced out.
The hotel is owned by Carpionato Properties Inc., which also owns the nearby Holiday Inn Express & Suites. The company is “continually committed to putting forth the best hotel products in the market,” Heater said, and the addition will follow the Crowne Plaza’s new design scheme, which was updated as part of an overhaul now being completed.
The company commissioned a new interior design by Portfolio Associates of Houston, Texas.
All 266 oversized guest rooms now feature a warm, earth-tone color scheme. The furniture, including nightstands, dressers and desks, was custom-designed by Fleetwood Fine Furniture, an upscale manufacturing company based in Toronto.
The bathrooms now feature granite countertops and updated fixtures, and framed mirrors with light sconces have replaced full-wall bathroom mirrors. Built-in lighting also was changed to accept warm fluorescent fixtures in the interest of energy conservation, Heater said, which will result in major savings.
The hotel is also offering the Crowne Plaza Sleep Advantage, a program that includes comfortable new beds, guaranteed wake-up calls, quiet zone floors, and sleep amenities such as eye masks, earplugs and night lights. A sleep CD and relaxation tips are also included.
Dale Venturini, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association, said customers today are more sophisticated, and their demands have increased significantly, so it’s important to recognize their changing needs and upgrade as necessary.
“The Crowne Plaza has a phenomenal reputation and must live up to that,” she said. “We’re in an industry that has a life cycle, and hotels must look at their surroundings and upgrade to stay fresh. The Crowne Plaza recognizes that and raises the bar.”
“Their updates will provide our customers who are looking for a suburban meeting facility with a wonderful property,” said Martha Sheridan, president and CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The renovations have occurred in three phases, with guest rooms divided into three equal groups. As it wraps up the final phase, Heater said, the hotel is “functionally complete.”
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