Hotels Lavish Guests in Top Suites

It’s a clip out of Robin Leach’s “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” Whether it’s bubble baths ready for guests’ arrival, breathtaking scenic views or Egyptian cotton sheets, Northwest Arkansas’ most luxurious hotel suites and the staffs who run them are out to prove who’s the most posh, pampering and relaxing.

Depending on demand, the top five luxury suites in the market average about $328 per night and about 820 SF each, or $2.50 per SF per night. The suites all had a minimum charge of $215 per night.

The properties with suites that made that cut — Embassy Suites Northwest Arkansas in Rogers, the Radisson Hotel in Fayetteville, Springdale’s Holiday Inn Northwest Arkansas and both the Crescent Hotel & Spa and the Basin Park Hotel, both in Eureka Springs — have three different owners.

John Q. Hammons Hotels Inc. owns the Embassy Suites and the Holiday Inn, Regency Hotel Management owns the Radisson and locals Marty and Elise Roenigk bought the Eureka Springs properties in 1997.

If their 10 total luxury suites were rented every day at the average rate, those rooms would create combined potential annual revenue of $1.2 million. Actual occupancy rates and revenues specific to the suites were not available, but Northwest Arkansas’ most upscale hotel rooms apparently charge more than the national luxury segment average.

Bobby Bowers is vice president of Smith Travel Research, a travel industry benchmarking and statistics firm in Hendersonville, Tenn. Bowers said for the first six months of 2005 the national average luxury suite rate in the chain-scale segment was $249.35, or 31.5 percent less than the local top rooms.

About 20 upscale chains in 15 markets are used for the STR estimate. Bowers said an annualized number for the luxury group nationally would be $241.30.

The most expensive local penthouses sit atop the Embassy Suites (see chart), where the rooms can run as much as $600 per night.

“Even in that luxury segment and in markets where room rates are higher, you’re not going to see much consistently more than that $500 per night rate,” Bowers said. “Not even in Manhattan.”

Bowers said nationally the upscale suite segment accounts for 8 to 10 percent of total lodging sales. According to STR, the industry had 2003 sales of $105.3 billion, up 2.6 percent from $102.6 billion in 2002. The average regular room rate nationally was $82.52, down slightly from $83.24 in 2002.

There are plenty of very nice rooms all across Northwest Arkansas. But for the purposes of this comparison, regular suites that merely entail adjoining rooms were not included. What the top five luxury suites all share besides the highest rates is the highest attention to detail for guests.

The following is an overview of what the area’s most palatial penthouses have to offer. Common amenities are listed in the chart and the rooms are in no particular order:

Holiday Inn Northwest Arkansas

The Holiday Inn Northwest Arkansas’ 700-SF presidential suite makes up what it lacks in overall space and modern décor with the staff’s customer service.

For $295 per night, the second-floor suite features 1.5 baths, granite countertops, a garden tub with water jets and a large walk-in shower. The living area has a big TV tucked away in an entertainment armoire in front of a sofa and two chairs. A small, oval dining table that seats four is set off to the side of the living area. The kitchen includes dishes.

For business travelers awaiting important phone calls, there are phones in both bathrooms. The Hammons property provides 15 bath towels for the suite, making sure that common housekeeping call is unnecessary. An electric shoeshine machine is also on hand for polishing up before a business meeting.

Nora Bowman, manager of guest services, said what ever the need, her staff is ready to please.

“Our maids turn down the bed and will turn on the radio to a certain station,” Bowman said.

There’s also a pillow menu that includes feather or hypoallergenic selections if the standard foam rest isn’t sufficient. The maids also leave a mint on the pillow every day.

Ten feet down the hall is a conference room with a table that seats 12, complete with a whiteboard, chalkboard, audio/visual hookups and a telephone with conference call capabilities.

The 728-SF conference room rents for another $200 per day. However, if someone needed it for a few hours, Aleta Travis, the hotel’s director of catering, said she’d rent it out for half price. Occasionally, if a VIP guest in the presidential suite needs it for just a short amount of time, Travis said she’d let them use it for free.

The guests’ comfort is top priority to the staff at the Holiday Inn.

“We’ll do anything that [the guests] want us to do — within reason,” Travis said.

Embassy Suites

David Lang has only been on the job since February, but the general manager of the Embassy Suites hotel in Rogers knows his way around a Hammons property. He’s been with the company for 11 years, working his way up through the food and beverage side of the hotel industry. He started as an executive chef.

Now Lang helps manage the most expensive and luxurious suites in Northwest Arkansas.

“What differentiates our suites, our hotel, from just the standard hotel offering is that we are an upscale, all suite, full-service hotel,” he said.

On top of the nine-story hotel on Interstate 540, there are two presidential suites ranging from $400-$600 per night, depending on how hot demand is. The suites are much like apartments, Lang said, having about 1,300 SF in each of them.

There’s a 32-inch TV inside an armoire, a sofa, two chairs and a glass coffee table in the contemporary art décor living room. The dining table seats six and has a bowl-shaped chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Leading to the wet bar area, along the marble tile floors, is an entrance to the half-bath. The full wet bar has granite countertops.

In the bedroom is a king-size bed topped with fluffy pillows. To either side of the bed is an entrance into the very large bathroom, also with marble tiles. One entrance through a French door leads to a Jacuzzi tub. Throughout the bathroom is also a large walk-in shower with Neutrogena products. The other door leads back out into the bedroom with a vanity and mirror.

The hotel, built in 2003, has an indoor pool, restaurant and conference room off the first floor. In the lobby, guests in a hurry can use a computer to check themselves in or out, making the stay as painless as possible.

Crescent Hotel & Spa

If any hotel can pamper guests like Hollywood stars, the Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs has all the right equipment.

The four-story hotel, surrounded by 15 acres of gardens, has four Annex Jacuzzi suites on two floors. The suites, available for $279 per night, used to be the maids and butlers service quarters, said general manager Jack Moyer, who also manages the Basin Park Hotel in downtown Eureka Springs.

Although the suites don’t have wet bars, they do have the other common applicances. The 800-SF suites used to be three guest rooms but were renovated to become one suite. The suite has a Jacuzzi tub and separate living area with leather furniture in select suites.

For a relaxing weekend, the three-night, $1,100 spa package includes three days of spa treatment, one dinner, breakfast daily and the Jacuzzi suite. At the New Moon Spa, guests can choose among rosemary mint body wraps, hot stone massages, Vichy showers, facials, body polishes and salon services.

“We are a resort spa,” Moyer said. “One of the larger spa salons in the area.”

Guests can also enjoy chef Marc Stauffer’s dinner menu at the Crystal Dining Room, where entrees range from $15 to $42. Some of the entrees include twin lobster tails with butter, an 8 oz. filet mignon dressed with Stilton bleu cheese and chicken boursin. There is also a variety of wine and champagne to enjoy, including Morgan Pinot Noir and Sonoma Cutrer Russian River Chardonnay. The Crystal Dining Room also serves breakfast and lunch. Room service is also available.

“The whole package is why [guests] pick this hotel,” Moyer said. “We are the resort headquarters of Eureka Springs.”

The Basin Park Hotel

Another Eureka Springs hotel provides guests not only with comfort but also entertainment. The Basin Park Hotel, built into the Ozark Mountains, is rich in entertainment history. The seven-story hotel is located in downtown Eureka Springs, centered in the hub of entertainment.

Located on the mezzanine is the Sunroom suite that has a king-sized canopy bed, Jacuzzi tub, and the standard accutrements. The $219 per night suite is about 550 SF and features a 125-SF balcony that sits one story over Spring Street.

“The beauty about the Basin Park is that you’re staying right downtown,” Moyer said.

He said the hotel is lighter on room service than the Crescent Hotel & Spa, with much younger clientele. There is a 24-hour concierge service and a complimentary in-town shuttle to make sure guests can enjoy Eureka Springs’ entertainment.

The hotel also has a swimming pool and a day spa. The serenity spa features facials, deep tissue massages, spa anti-aging exfoliation and body wraps, and manicures and pedicures. A two-day weekend package includes two nights at a premium guest room, breakfast for two both mornings at the Eureka Coffee Co. and two $100 gift certificates to use at the Serenity Day Spa. The cost of the package is $439.

For dinner, executive chef Penny Gentry cooks up culinary delights on the Balcony Restaurant, which overlooks downtown Eureka Springs. The menu is a little more laid back, serving up Ozark smoked chicken, hamburgers, wraps and salads.

The entertainment atmosphere is why Moyer dubs the Basin Park Hotel as “The Hub of Downtown Eureka.”

Radisson Hotel

The Radisson Hotel in Fayetteville has a presidential and governor’s suite with balconies that provide a breathtaking view of Fayetteville for $345 to $350 a night. On the top floor of the 15-story hotel, the presidential suite has amenities and staff to make the stay as luxurious as possible, said David McGeady, the hotel’s general manager.

The 1,050-SF room features a Jacuzzi tub, complimentary high-speed Internet, ironing boards, and a 24-SF balcony with a view of the Boston Mountains to the south. Guests can buy liquor from hotel in the wet bar or bring their own.

For ultimate bedding comfort, the room has a king-sized Sleep Number bed, which retails from $1,500 to $4,000, 300-count Egyptian cotton sheets, pillow shams and duvet covers. McGeady said that 90 percent of his hotel rooms will have Sleep Number beds by May 2006.

The governor’s suite offers the same amenities, but is slightly smaller at 1,026 SF and has a balcony view of the University of Arkansas’ Old Main building.

Connecting the two bedrooms is a parlor room with a wet bar, living area and another 24-SF balcony. The hotel offers laundry valet service, indoor/outdoor pool, business center, fitness room, restaurant, lounge and free transportation in Fayetteville. A 14,000-SF conference room sits off to the side of the lobby on the first floor.

McGeady said the suites are booked into August.