Hilton Sonoma in Santa Rosa, California, the Sheraton Ferncroft in Danvers, Massachusetts and the Sheraton Danbury in Danbury, Connecticut.
J/Brice Design International, Inc., Boston, has been selected as the interior design firm for the renovation of three hotels recently acquired by a joint venture partnership comprised of Olympus Real Estate Partners, Rockwood Capital Real Estate Partners and HEI Hospitality: the Hilton Sonoma in Santa Rosa, California, the Sheraton Ferncroft in Danvers, Massachusetts and the Sheraton Danbury in Danbury, Connecticut.
J/Brice Design, founded by Jeffrey Ornstein president in 1989, is responsible for establishing new design identities for these properties, renovating function rooms and guestrooms, developing new restaurant concepts and redesigning other public spaces including amenities such as the health spa and business center.
J/Brice Design, the largest firm in New England specializing in hotel interiors is a preferred design group for Hilton Hotels/Doubletree Guest Suites, Marriott International/ Renaissance Hotels, Starwood, TAJ Hotels, and Abu Dhabi National Hotels. New England clients include the Druker Company and Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, Inc., MassMutualıs real estate asset management subsidiary.
"These changes are strategic renovations to keep the hotels in their current peak condition to retain a competitive edge in their respective markets," said Gary Mendell, managing partner of HEI Hospitality.
Says David McCaslin, president of Merritt Hospitality, the wholly owned management company subsidiary of HEI, "We Selected J/Brice Design because of the firmıs ability to reinforce the brand identity while strengthening each propertyıs relationship with its regional business and social markets. Jeff Ornsteinıs award-wining work attests to his extraordinary talent, originality and vision and ability to achieve these objectives as well."
Sonoma Hilton
The Sonoma Hilton, Santa Rosa, California, in the heart of Sonoma's wine country, is nestled on a hillside with 13 acres of landscaped grounds. The propertyıs 246 guestrooms, including patio rooms, executive and VIP suites, lobby, function and meeting space will all be renovated.
J/Brice also will develop and design a new restaurant, health club and business center as part of the program. The property reflects the Craftsman style architecture predominant in the area. J/Brice will reinforce the motif in the interior space, emphasizing exposed timbers and other elements typical of this inspired architectural era. The firm has also commissioned leading Sonoma artists whose serigraphs and original paintings of the regional landscape and vineyards will grace the public space and guestrooms. "We want to reinforce the sense of place to position the property as a destination not only for tourists and business travelers but as a venue for major social events and passages such as weddings and anniversaries."
Sheraton Ferncroft
The Sheraton Ferncroft in Danvers, Massachusetts with two golf courses, conference facilities and 376 rooms is located off the Route-128 Technology Highway and is a sought-after venue for corporate events.
Says Ornstein, "The property currently lacks a sense of greeting and the layering of materials, over the years, has diluted its aesthetic impact. In addition, the registration area is too deep within the hotel. We will enhance registration aesthetically and operationally by creating two areas one for large group registration and a main registration desk to accommodate individual travelers. J/Brice also will create a satellite lobby/lobby lounge, to better serve these groups, unify the existing design and create a cohesive interior experience.
Orntseinıs firm will, in addition, oversee a complete makeover of the existing restaurant to create a more current and casual environment in the dining area, bar and lounge. The firm also will design and oversee construction of the new Cafe Pronto, a Cyber Cafe offering 6 am to 8pm dining and bar seating. The casual restaurants will be positioned as distinctive alternatives to the soon-to-open Gainıs, an upscale steak and martini restaurant slated to be leased to outside operators. The propertyıs Northshore Ballroom, which functions predominantly as exposition space, will be renovated to include decorative ceilings, new lighting and audiovisual system.
Sheraton Danbury
At the Sheraton Danbury, located 30-minutes from Westchester County (NY) Airport and 60 minutes from New York City, Ornsteinıs firm will redesign the property to establish the Sheraton sense of arrival in the main lobby and Sheraton design standards in all meeting and function rooms.
J/Brice Design International, Inc. has been designated an Interior Design Giant, and Architectural Giant since 1991. It ranks 24th out of 100 national firms, its staff has over 150 hotel/restaurant projects to its credit, and has the confidence of all major hotel chains as a preferred design team.
HEI Hospitality, headquartered in Norwalk, Conn. is an ownership/investment and hotel management group that owns and manages first-class and full-service hotels throughout the United States. Merritt Hospitality is an independent hotel management company and wholly owned subsidiary of HEI Hospitality.
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