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Napa breaks ground on $41 million hotel

THE 141-ROOM LUXURY HOTEL IS PART OF THE CITY’S EFFORT TO REVITALIZE DOWNTOWN

NAPA– Developers broke ground on what will be the largest luxury hotel in downtown Napa, with a price tag of close to $41 million and 141 specialty suites.

The project is part of 650,000 square feet currently under construction in the area and integral to the city’s ongoing plans to revitalize downtown, according city officials.

“We’ve been trying to get more hotel rooms into downtown Napa since the turn of the century, and we are looking forward to the hotel’s grand opening,” said Jennifer La Liberte, senior project coordinator for Napa’s economic development department.

Lodgeworks, a Kansas-based, national hotel developer,  first approached city officials  with their plan for a downtown hotel two years ago but changed their concept after city staff asked for a more high-end look, according to La Liberte.

The idea evolved into what is now called the AVIA boutique hotel collection, which will be exclusively located in Napa; Long Beach; Savannah, Ga.; and The Woodlands, Texas.

“We tried to choose locations that were not only very unique but that had very deliberate plans by local leadership to develop their area,” said Cheryl Doll, the company’s marketing vice president.

Work at the site on the 1400 block of First Street started Sept. 24 and is expected to continue until spring 2009. Ms. Doll said each hotel in the collection will draw on the local flavor of its distinct location, and seasoned San Francisco designer Colum McCartan chose a “refined rustic” motif and earthy palette for Napa.

The hotel will include a bistro and bar and more than 1,900 square feet of conference and meeting space. Planners also designed an outdoor terrace on the second floor of the hotel and rooms with spa-inspired bathrooms, gas fire places and olive wood floors. Ms. Doll said with years until the grand opening, the company is hesitant to nail down a rate range, but she said preliminary discussions have put the price between $200 and $500 a night.

Napa attracts affluent visitors

Ms. Doll said the company chose places that have a “propensity for discerning and affluent customers.” According to a recent Napa County Visitor Profile Study, more than half of respondents had an income of $100,000 or more and contributed approximately $176 million in revenues to commercial hotels and $40 million to bed and breakfasts in 2005.

Currently, the city has very few hotels in the downtown district, including a Travelodge and the historic Napa River Inn. Bed and breakfasts and other small inns are scattered throughout the city and outlying areas but none with the capacity to absorb an estimated 1,500 rooms the city needs, according to a lodging analysis conducted by the city.

The study was completed in 2000, but La Liberte said Napa officials will update the report this month. Napa River Inn has 65 rooms and prices range from $100 to $500 a night. Westin Hotels is also in the process of finishing a 160-room condo hotel in the Oxbow district of town.

Lodgeworks is a privately held hotel development and management company founded in 2000. The 860-employee company owns and operates 21 hotels nationwide, half of which are franchises of Hyatt Summerfield Suites, Hawthorn Suites, and Hilton Garden Inn. The AVIA collection is their third Lodgeworks brand line after their Sierra Suites hotels and Hotel Sierra collection.