by Patti Connor
Staff Writer
Hotel suites and luxury accommodations have come a long way since the days when spacious rooms, an attractive view and a bed with the approximate width and dimensions of a football field were enough to coax platinum cards from the deep pockets of discriminating travelers.
Though creature comforts remain high on their list, with the current squeeze on the economy today’s sophisticated travelers are a bit more demanding. In an ever-competitive market where sparkling new lodging facilities are appearing almost daily, each boasting more amenities than the one before, it’s incumbent on the older ones to stay apace.
Nor has that escaped the attention of area hotels.
“Since most business people nowadays take their portable PC’s on travel with them, Internet access is very important,” said Bob Meyer, director of marketing for the Radisson.
According to Meyer, the Radisson is the only hotel in Jacksonville that offers high-speed Internet connections in all of its guest and meeting rooms. The hotel also makes available web TV’s with portable keyboards that allow travelers to check their e-mail as and gain access to various websites. Although there is currently a kiosk with a printer in its lobby that’s available to hotel guests, “We’re getting a lot of requests from people willing to pay a few extra dollars for rooms with printers, so we may be adding those in the future,” he said.
Currently undergoing a $4.4 renovation, the hotel has a total of three major suites and 10 junior suites. With double French doors leading into the bedrooms, each suite has undergone an extensive overhaul, all the way to down mattress covers on its beds.
Not to be outdone, the Adam’s Mark Hotel has outfitted its various suites to afford its guests “maximum privacy and productivity.” Each suite features a spacious dedicated work area, with a full desk, data ports and a door.
“The bedroom is set apart, so you don’t have the feeling of being stuck in the office surrounded by clutter, which isn’t exactly conducive to relaxing,” said Kelly Rogers, director of sales.
Its proximity to the Florida Theatre, Metropolitan Park and the T-U Center, helps make the Omni a natural lodging choice for celebrities in town for their various performances.
Said Karen Courtright, director of sales and marketing, “At one point or another almost everyone, from Bonnie Raitt to Jerry Seinfeld, has stayed here.”
With an overall ambience that “is very luxurious and very much geared toward the upscale traveler,” the hotel also attracts business people scouting the area for perspective jobs or visiting one of the many regional offices located in Jacksonville, said Courtright, adding the hotel has formed a partnership with Speed.com, giving guests the option of using their own long-distance carrier.
Along with its 29 junior suites, the Hilton has two presidential suites: the St. John’s Suite, and its most famous suite, the Elvis Presley Suite, on the 10th floor — the hotel’s club level — where Presley actually stayed during a trip to Jacksonville in the 1960s. With all of its suites facing the river, the Hilton is also the site of Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Along with data ports featuring two-line speaker phones, the hotel also offers a point system that offers double airline mileage during the summer.
Sometimes, even business people just want an escape. The Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island offers two, 2,500 square-foot presidential suites on its concierge floor, multi-level, dual-line phones, high-speed Internet access and even a technology butler on call 24-hours a day in case guests experience problems with their computer.
There also is a business center with a staff on the ready to do guests’ every bidding.
“Basically, their job is to be the guests administrative assistant away from home,” said Kathleen O’Brien, director of marketing and public relations. “If, for example, a guest wants to go and unwind at the beach he can alert the staff that he’s expecting a fax and they’ll bring it to him once it arrives,” she said. “They also will go and pick up any special supplies guests might need.”
In Ponte Vedra Beach, the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club’s penthouse, opened six months ago, features, in addition to a keyed elevator leading directly into the suite, a dramatic spiral staircase with handcrafted gilding, original artwork, a balcony overlooking the ocean and clear and opaque bricks in the bathroom, which afford an unobstructed view of the golf course.
Downstairs, there is a bedroom, balcony, and sitting area that can be either sold separately or as a part of the overall package.
If the effect is the embodiment of a Sybarite’s fondest dream, that is precisely the point.
“Whereas people once would have been satisfied with Corian countertops, nowadays they want marble or granite,” said Fred Cosby, the hotel’s manager. “What would have warranted five diamonds 10 years ago, warrants only four diamonds today. People expect much more from hotels in general.”