Trader Vics, St. Petersburg, FL (restaurant) - Photo Updates from Visit - Locating Tiki

K Kailuageoff Member Honolulu Lounge,Lewes, DE Joined: Mar 27, 2002 Posts: 1506	K Kailuageoff Posted posted on Wed, Jan 12, 2005 3:49 PM Here's more about the name changes this hotel went through. KG St. Petersburg Times Publishing Co. Aug 24, 1997 The Days Inn Marina Beach Resort, a 157-room landmark hotel, will become a Holiday Inn SunSpree by 1998, the hotel's manager said Friday. A $2-million renovation project is under way, and a new restaurant called The Periscope is planned, said general manager Steve Springman. The hotel, at 6800 Sunshine Skyway Lane S, has long been familiar to motorists driving south just before they head across the Skyway bridge. It opened in the 1960s as two establishments: The Doctors Motel and Outrigger Inn. It later was the Sheraton Bel Air Resort, and became a Days Inn in 1987. As part of the switch to SunSpree, interior room renovation is planned, including special rooms for youngsters. Decorative walkways will be installed, and new lobbies will be built. Management and ownership will stay the same, Springman said. The SunSpree franchise name was purchased by owners Jerome and Carol Mullins of Madison, Wis. "We're just now letting the public know a change is going to be taking place down here," Springman said. "We plan on hosting a series of events" when the change takes place about Jan. 1, he said. SunSpree is a marketing arm of Holiday Inn about 5 or 6 years old. It has franchises in popular tourist areas such as Lake Buena Vista; and hotels in Clearwater and St. Pete Beach recently converted to the SunSpree name. One of the features SunSpree has come up with is a room within a hotel room - a private room for children inside the main guest room, thematically decorated. The new SunSpree will offer the "Kidsuites," and refrigerators, hair dryers and clock radios will be among the new amenities. Springman said the revamped hotel will continue to pursue the markets it always has: reunion groups, business visitors and families looking for a vacation spot. The hotel will keep its 5,100 square feet of meeting space. "The Hilton and Vinoy outrank us (in available meeting space), but we have largest in south St. Petersburg," Springman said. The hotel also will offer five tennis courts, two swimming pools, a Jacuzzi, a wading pool for youngsters and a Tampa Bay beach. The Tampa Sailing School also rents space from the hotel's 30-boat marina. Springman said "business has been stable" the past few years, averaging 70 percent occupancy. He said new room rates will range from $69-$109 off season, $79 to $149 during the heavy tourist months [ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2005-01-12 20:19 ]

Here's more about the name changes this hotel went through.
KG

St. Petersburg Times Publishing Co. Aug 24, 1997

The Days Inn Marina Beach Resort, a 157-room landmark hotel, will become a Holiday Inn SunSpree by 1998, the hotel's manager said Friday.

A $2-million renovation project is under way, and a new restaurant called The Periscope is planned, said general manager Steve Springman.

The hotel, at 6800 Sunshine Skyway Lane S, has long been familiar to motorists driving south just before they head across the Skyway bridge.

It opened in the 1960s as two establishments: The Doctors Motel and Outrigger Inn. It later was the Sheraton Bel Air Resort, and became a Days Inn in 1987.

As part of the switch to SunSpree, interior room renovation is planned, including special rooms for youngsters. Decorative walkways will be installed, and new lobbies will be built.

Management and ownership will stay the same, Springman said. The SunSpree franchise name was purchased by owners Jerome and Carol Mullins of Madison, Wis.

"We're just now letting the public know a change is going to be taking place down here," Springman said. "We plan on hosting a series of events" when the change takes place about Jan. 1, he said.

SunSpree is a marketing arm of Holiday Inn about 5 or 6 years old. It has franchises in popular tourist areas such as Lake Buena Vista; and hotels in Clearwater and St. Pete Beach recently converted to the SunSpree name.

One of the features SunSpree has come up with is a room within a hotel room - a private room for children inside the main guest room, thematically decorated. The new SunSpree will offer the "Kidsuites," and refrigerators, hair dryers and clock radios will be among the new amenities.

Springman said the revamped hotel will continue to pursue the markets it always has: reunion groups, business visitors and families looking for a vacation spot. The hotel will keep its 5,100 square feet of meeting space. "The Hilton and Vinoy outrank us (in available meeting space), but we have largest in south St. Petersburg," Springman said.

The hotel also will offer five tennis courts, two swimming pools, a Jacuzzi, a wading pool for youngsters and a Tampa Bay beach. The Tampa Sailing School also rents space from the hotel's 30-boat marina.

Springman said "business has been stable" the past few years, averaging 70 percent occupancy. He said new room rates will range from $69-$109 off season, $79 to $149 during the heavy tourist months

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2005-01-12 20:19 ]

Post #135184 by Kailuageoff on Wed, Jan 12, 2005 3:49 PM