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Aug 1, 2007
Los Angeles Times - The wall of huge red lava lamps lining the driveway of Anaheim's new Hotel Menage sends a clear message: This is not your father's Disneyland hotel.
Anywhere else and the Menage might not make waves. But this is Anaheim, land of the cram-the-kids-in-the-room motor inn and convention-friendly, cookie-cutter chains.
The Disneyland resort area has nearly 21,000 hotel rooms, but Hotel Menage is widely considered its first boutique property.
"It's such a punch when you're looking off [the street]," said hotel managing partner Richard Ham. "Before people even look at the entrance, they say, 'Oh my goodness.' "
The lobby could have been snatched from a W Hotel, with white flowing drapes, lounge-style couches and cool, ambient music. A red room -- which doubles as an office center -- is filled with red leather couches, another red lava lamp and lush, red curtains. Rooms are sleek, with concrete floors, leather headboards and 41-inch plasma-screen televisions.
Even the conference rooms are different: One is Zen-inspired, another is brightly colored with oversize beanbag chairs.
"These new hotels are popping up everywhere," hospitality consultant David Brudney said. "Why should Anaheim be any different?"
All over the country, developers are opening boutique hotels -- typically smaller, hipper properties that cater to Generation X, Generation Y or young baby boomers.
Starwood is debuting its newest brand, Aloft, next year, trying to capture a younger customer. Even Marriott, the nation's largest hotel chain, is jumping into the mix, announcing a recent partnership with hotelier Ian Schrager, who pioneered the boutique hotel concept, to launch a brand.
The number of boutique hotel rooms in the U.S. has grown more than 15.3% since 2001, according to Tennessee-based Smith Travel Research.
Bruce Baltin, senior vice president of Los Angeles-based PKF Consulting, said that just as mass-market stores such as Target Corp. were signing deals with designers in an effort to be more trendy, the boutique hotel movement reflected "a cultural need for style."
Ham and partner Christopher Keller have a long history with hotels. Their company, Casa Resorts, bought the 41-room La Casa del Camino in Laguna Beach in 2002. This fall, they expect to complete the purchase of their third property, Laguna Beach Inn.
Ham and Keller worked for years for other hotel companies, but decided they needed to form their own company if they wanted to grow.
"It was time to be an entrepreneur, really, time to make money on our own," Ham said.
They settled on Laguna Beach, deciding that beach tourism is nearly recession-proof. The hit MTV show "Laguna Beach" and the luxury Montage resort have also helped drive tourists into the area, Ham said.
Both worked for years at the Anaheim Hilton. After studying the market, they realized they could fill a niche in Anaheim too: "Not only is there a huge amount of leisure business, the conventioneers that are actually attending meetings in the city are looking for this."
They found the 248-room Hotel Menage, a former Holiday Inn, in a prime spot -- visible off the Santa Ana Freeway and on Harbor Boulevard, the same street that fronts Disneyland.
They paid $22 million for the property and invested an additional $5 million in renovations, stripping the rooms, replacing all the furniture and fixtures and completely redoing the lobby and restaurant.
Rates start at $129 a night and Ham is hoping to net $10 million to $12 million in sales the first year in operation. The company employs 130 people at each of its hotels.
Los Angeles Times - The wall of huge red lava lamps lining the driveway of Anaheim's new Hotel Menage sends a clear message: This is not your father's Disneyland hotel.
Anywhere else and the Menage might not make waves. But this is Anaheim, land of the cram-the-kids-in-the-room motor inn and convention-friendly, cookie-cutter chains.
The Disneyland resort area has nearly 21,000 hotel rooms, but Hotel Menage is widely considered its first boutique property.
"It's such a punch when you're looking off [the street]," said hotel managing partner Richard Ham. "Before people even look at the entrance, they say, 'Oh my goodness.' "
The lobby could have been snatched from a W Hotel, with white flowing drapes, lounge-style couches and cool, ambient music. A red room -- which doubles as an office center -- is filled with red leather couches, another red lava lamp and lush, red curtains. Rooms are sleek, with concrete floors, leather headboards and 41-inch plasma-screen televisions.
Even the conference rooms are different: One is Zen-inspired, another is brightly colored with oversize beanbag chairs.
"These new hotels are popping up everywhere," hospitality consultant David Brudney said. "Why should Anaheim be any different?"
All over the country, developers are opening boutique hotels -- typically smaller, hipper properties that cater to Generation X, Generation Y or young baby boomers.
Starwood is debuting its newest brand, Aloft, next year, trying to capture a younger customer. Even Marriott, the nation's largest hotel chain, is jumping into the mix, announcing a recent partnership with hotelier Ian Schrager, who pioneered the boutique hotel concept, to launch a brand.
The number of boutique hotel rooms in the U.S. has grown more than 15.3% since 2001, according to Tennessee-based Smith Travel Research.
Bruce Baltin, senior vice president of Los Angeles-based PKF Consulting, said that just as mass-market stores such as Target Corp. were signing deals with designers in an effort to be more trendy, the boutique hotel movement reflected "a cultural need for style."
Ham and partner Christopher Keller have a long history with hotels. Their company, Casa Resorts, bought the 41-room La Casa del Camino in Laguna Beach in 2002. This fall, they expect to complete the purchase of their third property, Laguna Beach Inn.
Ham and Keller worked for years for other hotel companies, but decided they needed to form their own company if they wanted to grow.
"It was time to be an entrepreneur, really, time to make money on our own," Ham said.
They settled on Laguna Beach, deciding that beach tourism is nearly recession-proof. The hit MTV show "Laguna Beach" and the luxury Montage resort have also helped drive tourists into the area, Ham said.
Both worked for years at the Anaheim Hilton. After studying the market, they realized they could fill a niche in Anaheim too: "Not only is there a huge amount of leisure business, the conventioneers that are actually attending meetings in the city are looking for this."
They found the 248-room Hotel Menage, a former Holiday Inn, in a prime spot -- visible off the Santa Ana Freeway and on Harbor Boulevard, the same street that fronts Disneyland.
They paid $22 million for the property and invested an additional $5 million in renovations, stripping the rooms, replacing all the furniture and fixtures and completely redoing the lobby and restaurant.
Rates start at $129 a night and Ham is hoping to net $10 million to $12 million in sales the first year in operation. The company employs 130 people at each of its hotels.
