Boston's Landmark Waterfront Hotel Embarks upon Most Extensive Renovation in 20 Year History of Hotel

BOSTON, March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Boston Harbor Hotel is in the midst of a twelve million dollar renovation which will include a dramatic remodeling of all 230 guest rooms and a complete overhaul of the largest function space, the Wharf Room. The most important components of the project are expected to be complete in early May.

"We are thrilled to be moving ahead with this renovation," says Paul J. Jacques, General Manager of the Boston Harbor Hotel. "The grand scale of this project is a testament to how critically important it is to us that we continue to provide our guests with the absolute best in service and amenities."

A goal of the design team is to create elegant guest rooms with a residential feel. The renovation will include new marble entrance foyers and bathrooms. The guest rooms will be refurbished in the hotel's distinctly Boston style: new Frette bed linens, fabric wall treatments, wool carpeting, and furniture. Recessed lighting will be implemented in each room. An arch will be added in many of the guest rooms to create the sense of two separate areas within one common space. The arch symbolizes Rowes Wharf's grand archway, which is often referred to as the Gateway to the City of Boston. Each guest room will be further enhanced with modern amenities such as a Bose Wave sound system, bedside outlet for cell phone chargers, flat panel television, and safe for laptop computers.

The highlight of the Wharf Room renovation is the new elegant ceiling in the grand ballroom. Builders are constructing a multi-sectioned, coffered ceiling with ornate trim, chandeliers and recessed lighting. The borders of the coffered ceiling have been elevated to a height of fourteen feet; the center panels, to a height of seventeen feet. Other features of the Wharf Room renovation include a new lighting system; a Bose sound system; electronic, retractable window shades which frame three walls of glass overlooking Boston Harbor; a canopied front entrance; and furniture that reflects the Boston Harbor Hotel's distinctly Boston style. The renovation of the Wharf Room was completed on schedule on March 12, 2007.

"The choices we have made in design exemplify our image as Boston's landmark waterfront hotel," said Jacques. "On the outside, our building seamlessly blends in with the rich history of our location at Rowes Wharf. Now with this renovation, our interior space will also reflect our distinctly Boston style."

After the guest rooms and Wharf Room are renovated, the hotel will focus on updating other areas within the property. Intrigue Cafe, the breakfast- lunch-dinner waterfront restaurant, will be refurbished as will the Rowes Wharf Bar. The lobby, mezzanine-level Magellan Gallery, and the Boston Harbor Hotel gift shop also will be renovated.

"Last fall we were thrilled when the Boston Harbor Hotel regained its Mobil Four Star status, but we are still reaching for that fifth star. We believe that we have five star employees working in the hotel; with this renovation, we hope we'll have a five star property as well," said Rick Kelleher, CEO of Pyramid Advisors, the company that manages the Boston Harbor Hotel. Not only does Kelleher's company manage the hotel today, he also founded Beacon Hotel Corporation, the company that developed and owned the Boston Harbor Hotel when it opened twenty years ago.

Boston-based, luxury hotel rehabber, Jinnie Kim of Jinnie Kim Design, Inc., is handling design for the renovation project. Kim designed Chef Daniel Bruce's signature restaurant at the Boston Harbor Hotel, Meritage, in 2002. Shawmut Design and Construction, a Boston-headquartered construction company is managing construction of the renovation project.

Pyramid Advisors is a privately held full-service hotel company based in Boston. The company currently has more than $2 billion of hotel real estate under management which includes owning thirty-six hotels, managing two hotels, and asset managing two hotels. Pyramid's partners have close to twenty-five years experience working together to successfully acquire, reposition and manage hotel real estate assets. For more information about the company and its affiliates, visit the company's website, http://www.pyramidadvisors.com/

The Boston Harbor Hotel is Boston's landmark waterfront hotel which will celebrate its twenty-year anniversary in August 2007. A member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, it is Boston's only independent grand hotel. With its dramatic archway and domed rotunda at historic Rowes Wharf, the building is considered an architectural treasure and is one of the most photographed buildings in New England. The Boston Harbor Hotel is a Mobil rated Four Star and AAA rated Four Diamond hotel. For additional information, please visit our website at http://www.bhh.com/.

Source: Boston Harbor Hotel

CONTACT: Kelley Belsher of Boston Harbor Hotel, +1-617-856-7790,
KBelsher@bhh.com

Web site: http://www.bhh.com/
http://www.pyramidadvisors.com/