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SAN DIEGO, March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- THE US GRANT, a
Luxury Collection Hotel, today announced that it has
been awarded "Best Luxury Guestroom Design" at The
HotelWorld Global Hospitality & Design Awards
competition in Las Vegas. Located in the heart of
downtown San Diego, the historically-chic US GRANT hotel
reopened in October 2006 after a meticulous $56 million
renovation. More than 3,000 hotels worldwide were
considered for the prestigious design award at
HotelWorld's international design competition that is
sponsored by Hotel & Motel Management, Hotel Design, and
Luxury Hotelier.
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THE
US GRANT hotel recently won HotelWorld's
prestigious Best Luxury Guestroom Design award. (PRNewsFoto/THE
US GRANT) SAN DIEGO, CA UNITED STATES 03/24/2008
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Owned by the Sycuan
Band of the Kumeyaay nation, THE US GRANT was one of
three other illustrious nominees in the Best Guestroom
Design category for the luxury segment, including: the
Ritz Carlton Sharq Village & Spa, Doha Qatar in the
Persian Gulf; The Alexis Hotel in downtown Seattle and
The Cove at Atlantis in the Bahamas.
"We define The Luxury Collection by our guests and the
experiences and services they demand and expect. Nothing
less than an exceptional level of service, perfect
location and indigenous personal offerings will do,"
said Ross Klein, President of Starwood's Luxury Brands
Group. "We are honored to win this prestigious design
award on the heels of a remarkable renovation of this
majestic property. This honor is a tribute to our owners
and the incredibly talented team of international
designers who worked to re-imagine the property. THE US
GRANT is a jewel in The Luxury Collection crown."
Unprecedented $56 Million Renovation
Commanding the heart of vibrant and dynamic downtown San
Diego, THE US GRANT retains the region's legendary reign
of superior luxury and warm hospitality. Built circa
1910, an unprecedented $56 million dollar renovation
completed in 2006 has captured the historic ambiance of
this landmark property to create a world-class urban
sanctuary. The hotel's history and ownership's legacy
will weave together with its acclaimed architecture and
artistic design to create a timeless masterpiece.
Design Challenges: Retaining the historical ambiance and
designations that placed the hotel on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1979 while creating a
more timeless and contemporary hospitality environment
that would move THE US GRANT to international
recognition and acclaim as a luxury destination.
Design Resources: Volumes of historical information
served as a foundation for weaving in 21st-century
textiles, technology and design with turn-of-the-century
character and nine decades of history. In addition, this
project benefited from a massive renovation and
retrofitting in the early 1980's that gave THE US GRANT
a contemporary floor plan of uniform king- and
double-bedded rooms along with a large volume of unique
suite designs.
Design Intention: The ultimate goal was to make each
guest's US GRANT stay truly one-of-a-kind by creating a
significant guest room design with original art that
could not be replicated in the industry and would
incorporate the historic architecture of the 11-story
Beaux Arts hotel.
Design Team: An international team of architects,
artisans, designers, craftsmen and master builders was
assembled to recreate the iconic hotel over a 21 month
period.
THE US GRANT guestrooms were envisioned around a theme
of "Sleeping with Art" originally presented by French
interior designer, Frederic Marq. Local resident Deniece
Duscheone was instrumental as the lead renovation
project architect and designer ensuring a timely and
successful re-opening in October 2006.
The hotel's owners commissioned nine noted artists -- of
European, American and Native American descent -- to
create a vibrant collection of new paintings,
sculptures, murals and ironwork for the hotel's public
and private spaces that together create a subtle, yet
moving, cultural experience for each visitor.
The headboards of nearly every guestroom are authentic
drip paintings by noted French artist Yves Clement, each
painted on property during the project. The commissioned
black oil-on-canvas, avant-garde paintings are mounted
on period piece architectural moldings to create framed
headboards measuring 6 feet x 6 feet for king rooms and
mounted as complimenting pairs for double double rooms.
Clement's paintings, under the signature of Clement
LeGrand, lend an unexpected touch of modern elan to THE
US GRANT's historic guestrooms, making them at once a
lovely melange of classic and modern tranquility.
Original works by Native American artist Gene Locklear
decorate guestroom foyers and bathrooms. Locklear's
previously commissioned art clients include The White
House, The Pentagon, the National Football League, the
PGA and the History Channel. Locklear was asked to
create 300 different representations of Kumeyaay life
from the 1700s to the 1900s in a modern abstract style
for the hotel's guestrooms. These finished works are now
some of the few known depictions of the history of
California's Native Americans.
Accomplished mixed media artist and San Diego native,
Marie Najera, was commissioned to create 20 different
pieces on wood and canvas for the hotel's Presidential
Suites, Penthouse & Signature Suites. The goal was to
create each guest accommodation as its own destination;
in fact each suite was assigned its own shade of blue
for wall coverings, carpets, etc. So Najera was asked to
be sure that her individual pieces used the special blue
of the suite where each would hang.
Luxurious features common to every room and suite
include nine-foot ceilings, extensive crown molding, and
hand-loomed wool carpets with artist-designed patterns
intended to reflect a Persian area rug that compliment
custom-designed Empire style furnishings including
impressive marble credenzas with leather inlay doors.
Luxury Collection pillow top beds with rich Italian
linens and opulent duvet covers compliment plush black
robes tucked into customized wardrobes. Marble bathrooms
with basin sinks feature imported bath amenities and
spacious showers, while modern technologies include 32"
flat screen televisions and wireless internet.
The 11-story, 270-room hotel offers 47 stunning suites
that range from 400 to 1,300 square feet among 5
different configurations. Having played host to 13
different U.S. Presidents since opening in 1910, THE US
GRANT offers three Presidential-caliber suites that were
designed to meet the Secret Service's current standards
for hosting U.S. Presidents and international dignitary.
With the highest ratio of suites to guestrooms in San
Diego, THE GRANT features two magnificent bi-level
Presidential Suites that are mirror images with 20-foot
ceilings, suede walls and grand staircases, a Penthouse
Suite's pony-hair headboard and sweeping city views and
the Signature suite series featuring expansive living
rooms and 8-foot by 8-foot, six-head rain showers.
In December 2003, the legendary property was purchased
by the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, the Native
American tribe who originally settled on the land that
now includes downtown San Diego where THE US GRANT
resides. Sycuan's purchase of the hotel represents an
ancestral tribute to its local legacy. It was President
Ulysses S. Grant who passed an Executive Order in 1875
that set aside 640 acres of East County land for the
Kumeyaay Tribes and granted them sovereignty. More than
100 years later, the gaming wealth garnered from that
land has allowed the tribe to restore the historic hotel
to its original splendor -- and beyond. Sycuan announced
that in 2008 it will further enhance the property by
adding a three-story spa with an indoor pool, as well as
a signature art gallery.
Other accolades garnered by THE US GRANT over the past
year include:
-- Robb Report's Winter 2007 issue named THE GRANT one
of the "Top 100 Luxury Hotels in the World."
-- With its January 2008 selection as one of just 125
hotels in North America to receive the Mobil Travel
Guide's prestigious Four Star Award, THE GRANT became
downtown San Diego's only Four-Star, Four-Diamond hotel.
-- Conde Nast Traveler's Hotel Hot List in the May 2007
issue.
-- The hotel's signature Grant Grill Restaurant also
received the AAA Four Diamond Award in 2008.
-- CNN Headline News "Top Hotel" in its "America's Best
Beach Cities" spotlight on May 25, 2007.
-- SELF Magazine's "Best Spa for Lovers of Luxe" in the
April 2007 issue.
-- The Los Angeles Times in March 2007 -- Four Star,
"Excellent" Rating.
-- Lodging Hospitality's "Design of the Times" Award for
US GRANT
interior designer Deniece Duscheone.
The Luxury Collection
The Luxury Collection(R) is a selection of hotels and
resorts offering unique, authentic experiences that
evoke lasting, treasured memories. For the global
explorer, The Luxury Collection offers a gateway to the
world's most exciting and desirable destinations. Each
hotel and resort is a unique and cherished expression of
its location; a portal to the destination's indigenous
charms and treasures. Magnificent decor, spectacular
settings, impeccable service and the latest modern
conveniences combine to provide a uniquely enriching
experience. Today, The Luxury Collection is a glittering
ensemble of more than 69 of the world's finest hotels
and resorts in more than 26 countries in bustling cities
and spectacular destinations around the world. The
Luxury Collection includes award-winning hotels that
continuously exceed guest expectations by offering
unparalleled service, style and class in some of the
most desired destinations in the world. Most recently,
Mystique, a Luxury Collection Resort, was honored with
the 2008 Travel + Leisure Design Award for Best Small
Resort in the world. All of these hotels, many of them
centuries old, are internationally recognized as being
among the world's finest. For more information, please
visit http://www.luxurycollection.com/.
CONTACT: The Marshall Plan, +1-310-452-1234,
kim@themarshallplan.com, for The Luxury Collection
Web site:
http://www.luxurycollection.com/
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