Kor Hotel Group Revolutionizes Mid-Range Hotel Design

Leading hospitality architecture and design publication Hospitality Design Magazine awards Sheraton

. October 14, 2008

Santa Monica, Calif. - Its luxury boutique properties often recognized in the press for innovative design, hotel operator Kor Hotel Group is pleased to announce its two mid-range Sheraton hotels have garnered equal acclaim: Sheraton Delfina has achieved Hospitality Design Magazine's distinguished 2005 Creative Achievement Award for Hotel Design and Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Airport Hotel placed one of two finalists in the same Mid-range Hotel Design category. Both Kor hotels will be featured in Hospitality Design Magazine's July 2005 issue.

"The competition was serious in all categories," said Michael Adams, editor-in-chief of Hospitality Design Magazine. "We were delighted that Kor Hotel Group entered the designs for both of their new Sheraton hotels in the competition and to see the trend of mid-range hotels putting design in the forefront." Other companies competing in the Mid-range Hotel Design category included Hilton, Marriott, Nikko Hotels International and InterContinental with hotels in New York, Paris and Dusseldorf among the entries.

The Sheraton Delfina's prime Santa Monica coastal surroundings were an inspiration for its recent redesign as a sophisticated urban boutique with a relaxed beachside atmosphere. Upon arrival, guests are greeted with a palette of Espresso brown, Tibetan blue and French White, and elegant lobby details such as a distinctive walnut furnishings, graceful linen club and high wing-back twill appointed chairs, and a dramatic display of white and pink coral, antique art pieces and oversized art books.

The urban chic and relaxed ocean feel of the lobby is reflected in the new guestrooms and suites. Redesigned in the same color scheme, the guest room appointments include contemporary Ocean Chevron club-style lounge chairs, contemporary Lucite lamps, crocodile-embossed leather headboards, glazed natural white linen desk chairs, and flat-screen televisions. Black and white photography depicting vintage beach and pier scenes from the early 1900s are framed with a French white wood frame.

Sheraton Delfina's Penthouse Ballroom - the only one of its kind in town - underwent significant upgrades and reconfiguration to increase meeting and event space and further enhance its sweeping 360-degree ocean, coastline and city views, while the pool area gained a resort feel with the addition of elegant furnished cabanas, a Brazilian Cumaru deck and tropical landscaping, as well as a handsomely furnished poolside clubhouse with brushed transitional style sofas, linen club chairs, dual-sided fireplace and plasma television. The new poolside state-of-the-art fitness center features a "cardio theatre" complete with personal flat screen televisions.

Under the management of Kor Hotel Group, Sheraton Delfina premiered in Santa Monica as a full-service, luxury four-star Sheraton hotel, officially joining Kor's distinctive portfolio of luxury boutique and flagged hotels. Timed with the completion of the property's major $11 million renovation, Delfina officially reflagged March 15, 2005.

Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Airport Hotel, located in the Los Angeles International Airport corridor, received a recent $14 million renovation that transformed it into a stylish 802-room "boutique" airport hotel. Guest rooms and suites were richly appointed with black wash ebony furnishings, occasional tables with red faux ostrich finishes, Lucite lamps and textured leather headboards. The refined contemporary look continues throughout the lobby and public spaces with modern furnishings in a dramatic palette of charcoal, black, navy and crimson. The hotel's outdoor heated pool terrace gained a fresh resort-destination identity with elegant black and white cabanas, a patio dining area and surrounding palms and flora. The style of the hotel's new destination restaurant Shula's 347 was also uniquely tailored to Gateway's new sophisticated urban design.

The Kor Group is a privately held real estate development and management firm with investments primarily in hotels and multi-family real estate. Kor Hotel Group, the hospitality division of Kor, holds a diverse property portfolio and manages both its own assets and non-owned hotels under third-party management agreements. Kor Hotel Group's properties include Avalon Hotel and Maison 140 in Beverly Hills, Viceroy Santa Monica and Viceroy Palm Springs, Tides in South Beach, The Jefferson in Washington D.C., Sheraton Delfina in Santa Monica and Sheraton Gateway LAX, as well as the newly launched Chamberlain in West Hollywood, and the forthcoming Viceroy Anguilla Resort and Residences and Viceroy Riviera Maya, premiering in the Caribbean in 2008.

Sheraton Delfina

www.sheratonsantamonica.com

530 W. Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Tel (310) 399-9344 Fax (310) 399-2504

Sheraton Gateway LAX

www.sheratonlosangeles.com

6101 West Century Boulevard, LA, CA 90045

Tel (310) 642-1111 Fax (310) 645-1414

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For More Information Contact:

Jennifer Dowd Giuliano

Kor Hotel Group