After gaining a reputation for decades as the home of convention and 'family oriented' hotels, The Hotel Valencia Riverwalk downtown is joining the newly opened Hotel Emma at the Pearl in the vanguard of the true luxury boutique hotel market, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
A $10 million renovation at the Houston Street hotel is adding the amenities that Manager Trent Freeman says today's luxury travelers have come to expect.
"Something they can't get next door, because it's really hard to find that unique experience," he said. "The boutique hotels have become a destination in itself."
The Hotel Valencia Riverwalk is moving from the modern design that was popular in the last decade to a Spanish colonial and Mediterranean look, in honor of its namesake of Valencia, Spain.
And Freeman says after decades in which hotel food was looked down upon by upscale customers, who would leave the hotel to seek out their dinners elsewhere, the restaurant inside the hotel, in this case, Dorregos, with an Argentinian flavor, will be a showpiece of the Valencia.
"It is incorporating Spanish colonial throughout, and Doregos, our new restaurant, will be incorporating an Argentinian theme, which is also something you can't get anywhere else."
The Hotel Valencia Riverwalk plans the grand opening of its new look in May.
PHOTO COURTESY: KELLY MORRIS