New resorts creating laid-back luxury and ‘experience’ for all types of travelers

The concept of creating an experience is evident in a new wave of resort hotel brands that are catering to business, leisure and even meeting groups, according to several new reports.

In both design and services, these properties are meeting what some see as a profound shift in the preferences and lifestyles of travelers.

“The emphasis is not on creating a big resort, but in creating an experience,” hotel industry consultant Heather Small, an analyst with Lodging Econometrics, told Meetings South.

These are often smaller resorts of 200 rooms or even less in size. They are more influenced by urban boutique hotels than by more conventional destination resorts of several hundred rooms or more. But levels of service and amenities are still being offered at levels of more long-established resorts.

 â€œPeople are dressing more causally, but at the same time they are more demanding and well-traveled than ever,” he says. “The expectations in terms of service have never been higher,” said Kit Pappas, vice president of sales for Capella Hotels and Resorts, a new brand.

Capella, which will have 10 hotels opened by the end of 2008, has resort projects under way that include the 100-room Capella Telluride, opening late this year in Telluride, Colo. Under development in Mexico and scheduled to open later this year are Capella Bahia Marona, an 82-unit, all-suite property in the Riviera Maya, and the 66-room Capella Pedregal in Cabo San Lucas.

The resorts will cater to small, upscale meeting and incentive groups.

 â€œOur research has told us that the luxury guest wants to be treated as an individual, which is one reason why our hotels are 100 rooms or less,” says Mr Pappas. “Our training puts a lot of emphasis on the individual.”

 Guests are contacted prior to their stay about what they want in their rooms and their particular activities.

Another example:

The Kor Hotel Group’s 5-year-old Viceroy Hotels & Resorts brand. It has resort hotels in two California locations, Palm Springs and Santa Monica. It also is opening  resorts in Mexico.

What sets Viceroy apart from many older resort brands is that each property features a locally inspired design that is unique to the hotel, according to a company spokesperson.

“Our niche is that we are strong on both design and service levels,” says the spokesperson.

A new brand created by Auberge Resorts, Solage Hotels & Resorts, like its parent company, is targeting a high-end market, but offers a more casual atmosphere and less expensive rates. The first resort, Solage Calistoga, opened in Napa Valley last summer, with design elements and amenities reflecting the California Wine Country lifestyle.

The 89-room resort’s main dining area is Solbar, a bar and casual restaurant opening onto large outdoor terraces, fire pits, bocce courts, and views of the Palisades Mountains. Function areas include an 11,500-square-foot event lawn, a pool area with cabanas and a barn-like meetings complex.

The new Nickelodeon Resorts by Marriott brand is also addressing a demographical change among resort guests: the trend for resort guests to combine a business trip or meeting with a family vacation.

This is a joint venture between Marriott, Nickelodeon and Miller Global Properties. The chain plans 20 potential hotels to be developed in major resort destinations around the world. The first resort will be a 650-room property in San Diego that is scheduled to open in 2010.

Signature components of the resorts will be indoor or outdoor water parks and live entertainment productions featuring popular Nickelodeon characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants. On average, the resorts will offer 30,000 square feet of meeting space.

Report by David Wilkening