STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announced today that its Parisian-born Le Méridien brand will open in Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale, in partnership with owner and prominent U.S. real estate developer Charles S. Cohen. Le Méridien Fort Lauderdale Airport will debut in 2017, following a comprehensive $30 million renovation and conversion of the hotel. This forthcoming opening follows on the heels of tremendous brand growth in North America over the last 18 months in Charlotte, Chicago, Columbus, New Orleans, Tampa and Indianapolis.
“We are delighted to partner with Starwood to introduce Le Méridien in Fort Lauderdale, following the top-to-bottom transformation and repositioning of this ideally located hotel,” stated Charles S. Cohen, President and CEO of New York-based Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation. “Le Méridien Fort Lauderdale Airport will help to meet rising demand for high-quality lodging within close proximity of the airport, Broward County Convention Center and the downtown business district and will also serve the growing need for meeting rooms and event facilities for tenants of our corporate center.”
Following its meticulous renovation and conversion, the hotel’s arrival experience will boast a transformed glass curtain wall façade and upgrades to the porte-cochere as well as large-scale artwork in high impact areas. Le Méridien Fort Lauderdale Airport will feature 245 contemporary guestrooms and suites with floor-to-ceiling windows and stunning views, as well as two redesigned restaurants – one with a mid-century modern, open kitchen concept – and the brand’s signature Latitude Bar. The hotel will also introduce Le Méridien Hub, which reinterprets the traditional hotel lobby into a social gathering place and builds on the brand’s award-winning arrival experience and coffee culture.
“Le Méridien Fort Lauderdale Airport will be the brand’s second hotel in Florida, joining its growing North America portfolio,” said Allison Reid, Senior Vice President of North America Development, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. “Le Méridien is a perfect brand for strategic conversions and adaptive re-use projects, which are driving the brand’s growth in the region, allowing us to enter mature metropolitan markets more quickly.”
Le Méridien Fort Lauderdale Airport will also offer an expanded fitness centre, a renovated outdoor pool and 20,000 square feet of state-of-the-art flexible meeting space in a prime location. The dramatic hotel transformation is being carried out by an outstanding team of design and construction specialists, including Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates and Daniels Brothers Inc., in addition to Dash Design, for interior design; Nievera Williams Design for landscape design; and Tex Lighting for lighting design.
Ideally located just minutes from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Fort Lauderdale Everglades Cruise Port, the hotel also neighbors several beaches, downtown Fort Lauderdale, and the world-famous restaurants, night clubs and boutiques of nearby Miami Beach. Le Méridien Fort Lauderdale Airport will be part of Cohen’s distinctive Design Center of the Americas (DCOTA) campus, a 40-acre, three-building Class A design and office center in Dania Beach. Guests will enjoy convenient access to Broward Center for the Performing Arts, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale and BB&T Center.
About Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts
With more than 100 Hotels & Resorts worldwide and the strongest, most globally diverse portfolio in its history, the Paris-born Le Méridien brand connects the curious and creative-minded traveller to unexpected and engaging experiences within their destination. With its brand promise of “Destination Unlocked”, Le Méridien has transformed numerous guest touch points through global partnerships with creative minds such as illy, the LEGO® Group, Johnny Iuzzini, Gray Malin, and Nouvelle Vague. Plans call for dynamic portfolio expansion within the next five years in some of the world’s most exciting destinations, concentrating on markets in Asia-Pacific and the Americas. For more information, please visit LeMéridien.com or follow us on social media –Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
About Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation
Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation, a multi-faceted real estate development company, owns and manages over twelve million square feet of prime Class A Manhattan office space as well as design centers in New York, Los Angeles and Houston. Among its signature New York properties are 623 Fifth Avenue, 135 East 57th Street, 805 Third Avenue, 750 Lexington Avenue, 622 Third Avenue, 979 Third Avenue, 3 East 54th Street and 475 Park Avenue South.
