Hotel renovation back on track, pumping millions into county... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Tourism is back from the depths of the recession. During the past five years, hotels deferred upgrades and room nights plummeted. But, to remain competitive in a better economy, many hotels are playing catch up and they seem to be doing it all at once. There are many new hotels being planned as well. Tourism in Florida is still one of the lynch pins of the local economy. Here is a representative list of what is going on in the rest of Palm Beach County:

New hotels
Courtyard Marriott at Abacoa, Jupiter
128 rooms
$20 million
under construction
Palm House Hotel, Palm Beach
79 rooms
$40 million
under construction (retrofit)
Hyatt Place Hotel, Delray Beach
134 rooms
$11.8 million value*
opened summer 2012
Source: Owner/manager estimates, *Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office
Renovations in 2013:
Boca SpringHill Suites, Boca Raton
146 rooms
$2 million
Waterstone Resort and Marina
(was Boca Raton Bridge Hotel)
139 rooms
$10 million estimated
Villas by the Sea
at Delray Beach Marriott
8 luxury suites
multimillions
Hilton Palm Beach Airport
245 rooms
Nearly $5 million
Note: This is not a comprehensive list.

You will be happy to note that the HRPB just reviewed improvements to the Holiday House at 4th Avenue North and Federal Hwy. It has long been shuttered and plans are to return to a resort hotel consisting of about 31 rooms. I wonder why it didn't make the article? Huh? Click title for link to the whole story.

Commissioner McVoy, even you must be able to understand that Lake Worth could cleave off a piece of this market or should we just discard the notion entirely. We'll wait to hear from you on this topic.