by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
If you haven’t been inside the 966-room riverfront Hyatt in a while, you wouldn’t recognize the place. The marble floor is still in the lobby, but virtually everything above it has been replaced since Hyatt took over last April.
In addition to major structural renovations, the decor and color scheme have also been updated.
“Wherever we can, we’re taking any teal off,” said Hyatt individual travel sales manager Lindsay Waldrop. “We’re trying to ‘de-teal’ it and put in rich dark browns. The ultimate goal is to get up to Hyatt standards and then exceed them.”
She said that while the official grand opening celebration won’t take place until February, the hotel will be ready to welcome football fans for the new year.
“It’s our first Gator Bowl. It’s going to be a benchmark event,” she said.
This week, the “front desk” is several computers on top of a couple of banquet tables directly in front of a major construction zone.
Waldrop said that when the new front desk is complete, the ceiling will be higher by six feet and the area will have an entirely different look.
Two high-tech Hyatt Express kiosks also have been installed.
“Just use your credit card and get your room key,” she said. “It will really speed up the process when big groups check in. Eventually the kiosks will be upgraded so that if you’re checking out and on your way to the airport, you can print out your boarding pass at the hotel.”
The biggest changes in the lobby involve food and beverage choices.
Plaza III Steakhouse is planning a soft opening by the time football fans arrive. It will seat 300 people, including the piano bar and outdoor patio tables with a view of the river.
“We’re excited about that,” said Waldrop. “For the last eight months, we haven’t had any fine dining on site.”
The lounge in the lobby has a new name, “Currents,” and the layout has been totally redesigned.
“The old lobby lounge was inaccessible and really under-used,” Waldrop said. “We’re installing plasma-screen TVs for news and events as well as wireless Internet.
“In the morning, it will be a Starbucks cafe. We think it will capture a lot of business that has been walking past us to get to Starbucks at the Landing. If you’re staying here and you’re leaving in the morning and don’t want a sit-down breakfast, you can grab a croissant and a coffee and you’re out the door,” she said.
A lot has changed at the hotel in the past nine months.
“We knew we’d have to go through the construction phase,” said Waldrop. “We tried to keep it quiet and friendly, but construction is construction and you have to go through it. We’re excited about the finished product.”