Fairmont, refreshed: hotel upgrades on a global scale

Golden gates: The Fairmont San Francisco is among the hotels with upgrades.

By Mark Chesnut

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, which operates upscale hotels that range from the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Arizona to the Fairmont Monte Carlo in — you guessed it — Monte Carlo, is making some major overhauls on a bunch of its properties worldwide, and guests are the beneficiaries.

Travelers planning a Hawaii vacation may be interested in checking out the Fairmont Kea Lani, located on Maui, which recently completed a $28 million renovation, and this month is getting a new open-air concept ready for its stylish restaurant, K. If you’re more in the mood for a sunny California vacation or business meeting, the Fairmont Newport Beach now makes it easier to stay in shape while on the road, with its newly expanded and upgraded fitness facility.

A bit further north is the Fairmont San Francisco, which has a freshly renovatedGrand Ballroom with wall covering graced with Swarovski crystals. At the nearby Fairmont San Jose, renovations have spruced up the lobby lounge, sushi bar, guest rooms and meeting space. California-bound travelers interested in the state’s renowned wineries should consider the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, which has debuted 30 newly renovated Mission Suites as well as a new Winemaker Suite, decorated with local artwork and equipped with spa-style bathrooms.

On the east coast, the Fairmont Copley Plaza, in Boston, is in the midst of a $20 million upgrade that will improve its meeting space as well as guest rooms. The hotel is also getting a new, 3,000-square-foot rooftop health club and a new restaurant. And in the nation’s capital, the Fairmont Washington D.C. has wrapped up a $2.6 million renovation of its nearly 29,000 square feet of meeting and event space, with eco-friendly materials and new Internet docking and charging stations.

Related resources

• Boston hotels
• San Francisco hotels
• Scottsdale hotels
• Washington D.C. hotels

Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on travel to Latin America. He loves room service.

Tagged: California, Europe, Hawaii, Hotels