Hospitality to Manage Astor Crowne Plaza, New Orleans
Seven-year-old hotel is fresh from a renovation
FEBRUARY 3, 2009 - Leo Spriggs, President/CEO of Hospitality Management Corporation, has announced that the newly renovated Astor Crowne Plaza in New Orleans has been added to HMC's portfolio of managed properties.
"We are very proud to add this great New Orleans hotel to our portfolio of hotel properties," said Spriggs. "As a major convention hotel with an enviable address for all visitors, we are delighted to become part of the New Orleans hospitality industry and local community."
Built in 2002 in the tradition of New Orleans' grand hotels, the Astor Crowne Plaza has just completed an $11 million renovation of its 693 rooms, including 28 spacious suites, a new and expanded business center and health club facility, public spaces and meeting rooms to restore the property to its original luster. One of the anchors of New Orleans' grand corridors, Canal Street, the Astor Crowne Plaza is strategically located in the heart of downtown, at the corner of of Bourbon Street, the gateway to the world-famous French Quarter. The address also serves as home to the award-winning Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House restaurant, one of the most popular dining establishments in New Orleans. Part of the collection of InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, the hotel offers 32,000 square feet of flexible, elegant meeting space, and outdoor balconies overlooking the action of Bourbon, Canal and Iberville streets. The Astor Crowne Plaza offers easy access to nearby attractions including Royal Street shopping and the entertainment in the French Quarter, the newly restored streetcars along Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue, Harrah's Casino, the Aquarium of the Americas, Jackson Square, Morial Convention Center, Riverwalk Shopping, the New Orleans Sports Arena and the Superdome.
Peter Ambros, a European-trained hotel executive with an esteemed career in the hospitality and food and beverage industries and who served as the opening general manager of the hotel, has returned to assume that post once again. He led the Astor Crowne Plaza's team during and following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, when he and his staff took in, sheltered, and fed over two thousand people in the hotel at the height of the hurricane crisis. Ambros received a special humanitarian award from IHG for his outstanding service during this difficult time in New Orleans.
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