Marriott Opening Helps Hollywood Revival

HOLLYWOOD, CA-Lodging giant Marriott International Inc. has re-opened a 637-room hotel here, after completing a $130-milion facelift that would out-do some of its past celebrity guests.

Marriott’s remodeled Renaissance Hollywood Hotel stands at Highland Avenue, near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard. For years, it was a Holiday Inn that was visited by the likes of Gloria Swanson before it became what one previous manager of the property said were “certain other women who work mostly in the evenings.”

Maryland-based Marriott International is confident that the remodeled lodging complex will attract a steady stream of businesspeople looking for two or more overnight stays. The 22-story hotel is owned by TrizecHahn Corp., the Toronto-based real estate giant that also owns the adjacent Hollywood & Highland mixed-use complex.

The Hollywood & Highland development opened last month. Foot traffic at the project has exceeded expectations, a TrizecHahn official says, with many of the stores in the new development reporting long lines at their check-out counters.