Hilton to build new hotels at Bonnet Creek Resort

[crazy4wdw]

A 1,000-room Hilton and a 500-room Waldorf-Astoria Planned for Bonnet Creek Adjacent to Walt Disney World Resort; The First Ground-up Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to be Built Since the Original in New York

ORLANDO, Fla. - May 31, 2006 -- Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) announced plans today to build a 1,000-room Hilton and a 500-room Waldorf-Astoria at Bonnet Creek, a resort development adjacent to the Walt Disney World Resort. Construction of the project is currently in the design phase and is on schedule to break ground by the end of 2006 and to open in the summer of 2009.

GEM Realty Capital, Inc., with Merrill Lynch Global Principal Investments and another private investment company, will partner with Bonnet Creek Venture, Ltd. and Hilton Hotels Corporation to develop and own the resort. Bonnet Creek Venture, Ltd., a joint venture between Brooksville Development Corporation and the estate of the original owner of the property, will oversee construction and ensure delivery of the project. The properties will be managed by Hilton Hotels Corporation.

In January 2006, The Waldorf=Astoria Collection(TM) of luxury hotels was announced to extend the cachet of New York's legendary Waldorf=Astoria hotel. As one of America's first 'grand hotels' that combines luxurious elegance with a myriad of amenities and services, the Waldorf=Astoria has been renowned for over a century. The Waldorf=Astoria Bonnet Creek will be the first ground-up Waldorf=Astoria hotel to be built since the original in New York, and will feature many of the signature food and beverage establishments that have made the Waldorf=Astoria popular, including Peacock Alley, the Bull & Bear, Sir Harry's Bar, and Oscar's. The newly developed hotel's decor will include Art Deco design and original art work.

The Hilton and Waldorf-Astoria Hotels will include a Rees Jones designed golf course, expansive swimming pools that overlook the golf course, and a state-of-the-art spa and fitness center. Each hotel will also feature upscale and specialty restaurants, a pool bar and outdoor grill, a lobby lounge and a sports bar.

"Hilton Hotels Corporation is thrilled to announce that two elite new hotels, including the first newly built Waldorf=Astoria since the original in New York, are being planned for the Bonnet Creek development next to Walt Disney World Resort," said Matthew J. Hart, president and chief operating officer, Hilton Hotels Corporation. "With this outstanding location, we have an unbeatable opportunity to increase our share of this coveted market with two distinctive upscale hotels -- one under the renowned Hilton name and one an ultra-luxury Waldorf=Astoria."

"We are excited to invest in this unique opportunity and partner with talented and experienced industry leaders that include Hilton, Merrill Lynch, and BCV," said Norman S. Geller, senior managing partner of GEM Realty Capital. "Our private/public investment platform served as the foundation to complete this complex transaction."

The two hotels announced today will have a combined total of 145,000 square feet of meeting space, of which 115,000 square feet will be located in a conference facility. The largest ballroom will be 36,000 square feet. Each hotel will have its own meeting space: 25,000 square feet in the Hilton and 11,000 square feet in the Waldorf=Astoria. Each hotel will feature multiple food and beverage facilities. The hotels will share a 25,000 square foot spa and fitness center and 5,000 square feet of specialty retail. The Rees Jones designed golf course will be completed prior to the opening of the project.

Link for Map

 

[MickeyCrazed]

they have a much larger piece of land than I thought they did.
Well, at least it doesn't look like the hotels will be very tall, so it won't spoil the magic of the surrounding WDW resorts as much as a high rise would.

 

[Another Voice]

For the people who think that WDW has plenty of buffer - take a look at the map.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

For the people who think that WDW has plenty of buffer - take a look at the map.

Actually WDW is very lucky with the Bonnet Creek development. The Pop Century Resort gets "name" golf course as its backyard, with a deluxe hotel complex way on the other side of that. As its new neighbor, the Caribbean Beach Resort now has a high-end flagship timeshare resort, complete with a lake, attractive lowrise buildings, and fancy landscaping. Not too bad.

It could be worse. Imagine if the developer of the Bonnet Creek property (bordered by Disney property on three sides) had decided the best use of the land would be to build the world's biggest flea market or a pork slaughterhouse and processing plant!

 

[crazy4wdw]

Waldorf-Astoria joins region's luxury roster
Bonnet Creek project near Disney to include a Hilton

Christopher Boyd | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted June 1, 2006

Move over Ritz, here comes the Waldorf.

A Waldorf-Astoria hotel will be built near Walt Disney World, adding another prestigious name to Central Florida's growing collection of luxury resorts. It will be only the second Waldorf in the world, joining the fabled original in New York City.

Hilton Hotels Corp. announced Wednesday that the 500-room Waldorf, along with a conjoined 1,000-room Hilton, would be built at Bonnet Creek just outside Disney World. The complex, scheduled to open in 2009, will be similar in size and scope to the posh Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels, which opened in 2003 at the Grande Lakes Resort in south Orlando.

"They are clearly the crown jewels of our project," said Bill McArthur, president of Brooksville Development Corp., Bonnet Creek's developer. "This is the first Waldorf to be built from the ground up since the original rose in New York. It will set a very high standard for luxury rooms in Orlando, where there is a real need."

Final plans are still under development, but the two hotels would be built on an 18-hole golf course and would be connected to a shared conference center. Hilton didn't disclose what they would cost to build.

The hotels join a series of other recently announced resort and convention hotels that would add thousands of high-end rooms to the market. This spring, Hilton said it would build a 1,400-room hotel next to the Orange County Convention Center.

"It typifies the strong performance of the upper-end of the hotel market," said Robert Mandelbaum, research director with PKF Hospitality Services in Atlanta. "People stereotypically think of Orlando as a leisure-travel market, but it has a growing demand for upper-end hotels."

Mandelbaum said that Hilton's decision to build at Bonnet Creek, a 482-acre development that also contains a large Wyndham Vacation Ownership time-share component, fits a trend.

"A lot of luxury brands are being built in mixed-use developments, places with components like condominiums, time shares and commercial properties," Mandelbaum said.

Hilton, the nation's third-largest hotel chain, will build the Bonnet Creek hotels with several partners, including GEM Realty Capital of Chicago and Merrill Lynch Global Principal Investments. Hilton will operate the hotels after they open.

Hilton decided to extend its Waldorf-Astoria brand beyond Manhattan early this year with the creation of a new luxury hotel line, The Waldorf-Astoria Collection. The group includes the famed Waldorf, where presidents, royalty and stars have stayed for decades, and three other luxury hotels that do business under different names.

The Central Florida Waldorf will contain restaurants and bars named after ones in its New York namesake. They include Peacock Alley, The Bull & Bear, Sir Harry's Bar and Oscar's. Though the new hotel isn't expected to look like the ornate original on Manhattan's tony Park Avenue, Hilton said it will fit solidly in the luxury lodging class.

"We have a hotel recognized worldwide," Hilton spokeswoman Kathy Shepard said. "We are now building a brand based on that hotel. The brand symbolizes the high quality, luxury and outstanding hospitality that the original hotel represents."

 

[Another Voice]

The Pop Century Resort gets "name" golf course as its backyard,

Yes, all those people staying at the Pop Century who've been demanding to drop two hundred bucks for a round of golf - their prayers have been answered!

Of course, this whole project is going to make PC look even worse than it does today. Shiny high rise towers filled with really nice hotel rooms over looking a motel that can only offer a sixty foot "Do The Funcky Chicken" sign.

As its new neighbor, the Caribbean Beach Resort now has a high-end flagship timeshare resort, complete with a lake, attractive lowrise buildings, and fancy landscaping.

And think of all the fun we'll have being chased by the condo's security staff if we try to actually see them! Yes, nothing says "Disney Vacation" more than looking at the all the goodies everyone else gets.

And won't the skyline of the Caribbean Beach be improved by a couple of twenty story towers hovering over the place. That's the real "Disney Difference" alright - once you felt you were isolated on a tropical beach, now you'll be suddenly transported to the "magic" of I-Drive.

It could be worse.

You're right. Disney could finish Pop Century.

 

[All Aboard]

It begs the question, why did Disney build Pop and CBR right up to their property line knowing that someone else was going to develop that space and not knowing exactly what might go there.

btw, I've read that the towers being built there will likely be visible from within Epcot.

 

[Cricket2]

As we all know, every current Disney guest would feel completely at home walking around the Waldorf in flip-flop orange crocs sweating like a yak with a fever. Is there a market for this sort of thing? Exactly how many Sheiks have Premium Annual Passes in their future travel plans? I can't see the third Prince of Aakbar debating with his staff which Fast Pass to get first, Mission Space or Soarin' before grabbing a rainbow margarita.

Let's see if I have a valid formula here:

(mouse*Waldorf) + 5 star shopping / buttle service = a $1434.00 pair of swimming trunks with gold inlay?... I might be off by a few percentage points though

So much for the "Blessing of space".

 

[mrsR123]

I'm so depressed by that map. I wonder how much of a discount they'll have to give to people who overlook Pop? Or rather how much of a premium they'll charge for rooms that don't?

Makes one wonder anew what fabulous development will occur in the other small parcels and "hole in doughnuts" that have been sold.

 

[seashoreCM]

Yes, all those people staying at the Pop Century who've been demanding to drop two hundred bucks for a round of golf - their prayers have been answered!

And think of all the fun we'll have being chased by the condo's security staff if we try to actually see them! Yes, nothing says "Disney Vacation" more than looking at the all the goodies everyone else gets.ry.

You'll be chased by Disney's security staff as you make your way through mosquito and snake infested swamps trying to get off property (onto Bonnet Creek land) other than via roadways.

Just beyond All Star Movies is Route 192.

Most people who will book at the Bonnet Creek hotels will be on Disney vacations. They will be wearing their own orange flip flop Crocs and trying to decide what Disney park pass is best for them. The main reason conventions will book there is so that attendees can spend spare time at Disney.

 

[DancingBear]

Makes one wonder anew what fabulous development will occur in the other small parcels and "hole in doughnuts" that have been sold.

Just to be clear here, Bonnett Creak wasn't sold off, it was a piece Disney never got. As for the pieces Disney has sold off that are close enough to the developed or to-be-developed areas to matter, I'd be surprised if they weren't sold with restrictions on the types of future development.

 

[barreloflaughs]

Yes, all those people staying at the Pop Century who've been demanding to drop two hundred bucks for a round of golf - their prayers have been answered!

Of course, this whole project is going to make PC look even worse than it does today. Shiny high rise towers filled with really nice hotel rooms over looking a motel that can only offer a sixty foot "Do The Funcky Chicken" sign.

Full circle.....Walt buys Florida property so that he can build his parks without the encroachment of tacky tourist trap motels and such into his new world. Tacky tourist trap motels in his world now encroach on the outside world.

Ack...sometimes life is too ridiculous to ponder.......

barrel

 

[seashoreCM]

Has Hilton chosen a unique name for its proposed resort?

Full circle.....Walt buys Florida property so that he can build his parks without the encroachment of tacky tourist trap motels and such into his new world. Tacky tourist trap motels in his world now encroach on the outside world.

Future news article: Bonnet Creek developers Fairfield and Hilton go scouting about the country for a huge tract of land where they can build luxurious resorts with plenty of buffer space so companies like Disney don't encroach and spoil the view with tacky and garish amusement rides and tourist trap motels, and limit the expansion possibilities. State has to expand interstate highways and the local puddle jumper airport as tourists buy into the resorts as timeshare owners and flock by the millions to enjoy sitting on chaise lounges by the pools, and play golf or tennis, and in the evenings stand and socialize on screened in patios drinking from wine goblets.

 

[flatline]

please don't tell me the road construction, traffic delays, and redesign of I-4 at I-192 has been for the infrastructure for these hotels.

 

[seashoreCM]

There must be some height restrictions related to aviation. Cinderella Castle, Tower of Terror, Spaceship Earth and Expedition Everest were supposedly affected. So I don't expect Hilton's new hotels to be that tall.

Would or could Disney ration traffic flow where the Bonnet Creek access road comes out (onto Buena Vista)? Would or could the land owner put a second entrance on Osceola Parkway?

World Drive is no longer the shortest way to Disney for most guests. In fact, coming from the north, the Epcot exit off of I-4 makes for a shorter trip to Magic Kingdom. So reconstrucing the 192 to I-4 interchange does not look like a Disney related project. The state has had many years' lead time to size up development versus infrastructure and pass regulations requiring that developers contribute to off site highway improvements. If Hilton is not contributing, the state has only itself to blame.

 

[DC7800]

There must be some height restrictions related to aviation. Cinderella Castle, Tower of Terror, Spaceship Earth and Expedition Everest were supposedly affected. So I don't expect Hilton's new hotels to be that tall.

Building 200 feet and higher requires a blinking red light on top, which wouldn't exactly look good at the top of Expedition Everest or Tower of Terror, hence the purpose of holding a structure to 199 feet. A hotel, however, wouldn't necessairily care about that, and may go beyond 200 feet, so long as there is no other height restriction in place. For that matter, how tall is the Buena Vista Palace (across from Saratoga Springs)? Isn't it at least 27 stories?

Would or could Disney ration traffic flow where the Bonnet Creek access road comes out (onto Buena Vista)? Would or could the land owner put a second entrance on Osceola Parkway?

The Buena Vista Drive location is just about the worst possible place for the Bonnet Creek entrance. Disney had to grant access (as I understand it, the Bonnet Creek developers were denied direct access to I-4 ?), but it seems like Osceola Parkway immediately west of I-4 (near Pop Century) would have been better (and, if for no other reason than traffic flow, a defensible choice by Disney). This would have the added benefit of not requiring BC guests to first enter Disney property. Making that change now would be an awkward construction at best (too close to PC), but arguably something needs to be done. Traffic along Buena Vista Drive is only going to get worse, and again, it is in Disney's best interest to keep Bonnet Creek guests off the property.

 

[flatline]

it's too far to the west to make any impact on the Bonnet Creek area now that I think of it. the height restriction is any structure 200' or higher has to have aviation warning lights.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Traffic along Buena Vista Drive is only going to get worse, and again, it is in Disney's best interest to keep Bonnet Creek guests off the property.

I agree that traffic will get worse.

I disagree that it's "in Disney's best interest to keep Bonnet Creek guests off the property."

The best thing for Disney is for Bonnet Creek Resort guests — staying at the Fairfield, Hilton, Waldorf-Astoria, and eventually several future resorts — to come onto Disney property with their wallets. Would it really be better if these guests were expelled onto the other side of I-4, and encouraged to bypass Disney's attractions, dining, shopping, and entertainment? It's in Disney's financial interest for these guests (many of whom will be quite affluent) to become as much of a captive Disney audience as possible — and the current access road location is perfect for this.

Another advantage of the current access road is that it provides good access from two Reedy Creek fire stations. My understanding is that the Bonnet Creek Resort contracted with Reedy Creek Emergency Services (RCES) for fire protection and emergency medical services.

The Buena Vista Drive location is just about the worst possible place for the Bonnet Creek entrance. Disney had to grant access (as I understand it, the Bonnet Creek developers were denied direct access to I-4 ?), but it seems like Osceola Parkway immediately west of I-4 (near Pop Century) would have been better (and, if for no other reason than traffic flow, a defensible choice by Disney).

If you look at the map at the bottom of the article, you'll see that there are freeway ramps on both sides of Osceola Parkway immediately south of the Bonnet Creek Resort, so it would not be possible to put an intersection there.

 

[wdw4us2]

I actually heard this rumor back in April from a CM - they do occasionally get it right.

 

[DC7800]

I agree that traffic will get worse.

I disagree that it's "in Disney's best interest to keep Bonnet Creek guests off the property."

The best thing for Disney is for Bonnet Creek Resort guests — staying at the Fairfield, Hilton, Waldorf-Astoria, and eventually several future resorts — to come onto Disney property with their wallets. Would it really be better if these guests were expelled onto the other side of I-4, and encouraged to bypass Disney's attractions, dining, shopping, and entertainment? It's in Disney's financial interest for these guests (many of whom will be quite affluent) to become as much of a captive Disney audience as possible — and the current access road location is perfect for this

Automobiles just passing through WDW property, in order to reach their destination of Bonnet Creek, do not contribute financially to Disney. In fact, it could be argued potentially they cost WDW money, becuase WDW roads must have the capacity to handle the extra traffic. Persons neither going to nor coming from a Disney destination should ideally be routed elsewhere. Now, I completely agree Disney should encourage Bonnet Creek guests to come and spend freely at WDW resort destinations; make it as easy as possible for them to visit DTD or World Showcase restaurants (for that, access to Buena Vista Drive is somewhat more appropriate). But that is a very different issue than having the only access to a non-Disney resort from within WDW.

You want the guests and their wallets; you don't want to have to provide transportation infrastructure for somebody else.

Access off Osceola Parkway probably would have been possible originally, but certainly at far greater cost - made worse still by the ramps from I-4 (who owns that little strip of land between the parkway and Bonnet Creek?) - you might well have to redesign the whole interchange. However, its clearly impractical now, since you would have to plow the new road right through the golf course. I don't, of course, know enough of the details to know why the BVD access decision was made, but it just strikes me as remarkably poor planning.