Boston Properties Upgrade As Hoteliers Plan New Venues

Boston, a leading East Coast center for technology companies and academic institutions, is buttressing its status as a business magnet with several improvements in the downtown hotel market.

Centerpiece of the development is a $5 million makeover of the Hyatt Regency Cambridge, which began in January and is set to be finished by year-end. While upgrades of the hotel's 469 guest rooms were completed in March, work is now shifting to the lobby, corridors and meeting rooms.

"This renovation will not only update this landmark hotel's look, but also enable us to provide travelers with more of the comforts and conveniences they require," said general manager Stuart Meyerson.

Improved lodgings with a heightened emphasis on the corporate market at the facility--minutes from downtown Boston and 5 1/2 miles from Logan International Airport--is in high demand because of the large volume of inbound domestic and international travel.

"In addition to serving the local business community, our market includes clientele who attend medical meetings and people from area colleges, such as Harvard, MIT and Boston University, which attract many international travelers," said director of sales Bob Pelligrini. "Before the renovation, the hotel wasn't the kind of place many of our guests were used to, but now it is much more upscale."

Known for its unusual ziggurat shape and built around a 16-story atrium, the property offers 18 suites and parlors, and 24 rooms designed for guests with disabilities.

For group events, the hotel offers 22,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, including conference suites and a 7,100-square-foot ballroom with adjoining courtyard and gazebo.

Guest rooms have been refurbished with large desks, extra electrical outlets, voicemail, dataports, comfortable work chairs and easy chairs for reading. About 150 rooms have a second phone line, with about 60 equipped with fax machines. Guests also may request a fax machine in any room. The Hyatt's Business Area is equipped with a printer, fax and copier.

Recreational amenities include fully equipped health club, a 75-foot indoor lap pool, sun deck, whirlpool, sauna and steam room. Nearby are biking and jogging trails along the Charles River, plus golf and tennis. Complimentary scheduled shuttles to area businesses also are available.

Raising the competitive ante in Boston are a number of other hotels that have recently undergone changes, as well as new properties on the drawing board.

Upgraded lodging facilities include the 214-room Lenox Hotel, which completed a three-year, $20 million renovation of its guest rooms and public areas; and the opening of a business center at the Back Bay Hilton. In addition, a 427-room hotel at the World Trade Center is set to open in May 1998 with 16,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space. The property, which will be connected directly to the World Trade Center, the city's main convention center, will feature an 8,200-square-foot ballroom and lounge that can accommodate 250 delegates, and underground parking for 1,200 vehicles.

Future plans call for a 362-room hotel--the company hasn't been named yet--in a former office building sometime in 1998, a 600-room Logan Hilton--which will open in 1999--that will be directly connected to airport terminals via walkways, a 300-room hotel at City Hall Plaza, a 300-room hotel on Park Plaza opposite the Raddison, a 170-room downtown "club hotel" and a 300-room addition to the Back Bay Hilton.