Two of downtown Salt Lake City's major hotels are about to undergo name changes, continuing a game of hospitality industry musical chairs that has been going on locally for some two decades.
The Hilton Hotel at 150 W. 500 South has been sold to Starwood Hotels and Resorts based in White Plains, N.Y., and will soon become a Sheraton Hotel -- the first time that name has graced a downtown Salt Lake hotel since a Sheraton Hotel opened at 255 S. West Temple in the early 1980s. There is currently a Sheraton at the Salt Lake International Center west of the airport.The downtown Sheraton later became a Red Lion Hotel and later still a Doubletree Hotel, the name it has carried since 1997.
But effective Thursday, the Doubletree -- which itself began life at 215 W. South Temple, which is now the Wyndham Hotel -- will be renamed the Hilton Salt Lake City Center. The Hilton Hotel at the International Center will be unchanged.
Is all that genealogy clear? Didn't think so. Let's simplify things by leaving out the past history: The current downtown Doubletree will become a Hilton. The current downtown Hilton will become a Sheraton.
Here is the genesis of the latest ownership swaps. In December, Hilton Hotels acquired Promus Hotel Corp. which owned the Doubletree and Embassy Suites bands. Since the Hilton on 500 South was a franchise deal, as opposed to being owned and operated by the Hilton corporation, the property was sold to Sheraton. Then Hilton Corp. decided to rename the Doubletree the Hilton Salt Lake City Center, which will become the Hilton group's premier hotel in Salt Lake.
Although a Hilton spokesman said the Hilton on 500 South will officially become a Sheraton on Thursday, the Sheraton organization refused to comment, saying its executives had not yet been notified and it has no timetable for changing the name.
Not so the "new" Hilton, which of this moment is a Doubletree, remember? Hilton Corp. is right now putting the finishing touches on several renovation projects at the 18-story, 495-room hotel, including work on the guest rooms, recreational facilities, and a new conference center that it says will contain "leading edge" technology.
Included in the upcoming media events that will be held in coming weeks -- dates not yet specified -- to publicize the ownership and name change will be an unveiling with members of the United States Speed Skating Association and a community open house with guided tours to let guests see the changes and additions.
Guest rooms include an executive work desk, two telephones with two lines, speakerphone, data ports and voicemail. A full-service business center also will be available daily from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The new Hilton also will include an executive floor with upgraded amenities, a personal concierge, complimentary breakfast and an evening manager's reception.
The hotel will have two restaurants: the new Canyon Ridge Cafe, described as "casual Western dining," and Spencer's for Steaks and Chops, a private club.
Deseret News staff writer Jacqueline Cheney contributed to this story. E-mail: max@desnews.com, jcheney@desnews.com