ORLANDO (Sept. 11, 2006) – Florida’s leisure tourism and meetings industries took a bold step toward the future as the state’s newest standard in luxury resorts, Rosen Shingle Creek, opened its doors to guests for the first time at precisely 12 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9. The 1,500-room resort is located at 9939 Universal Blvd., off the International Drive tourist corridor and just minutes from the Orange County Convention Center and Orlando International Airport.
With the opening, Orlando is now home to one of the country’s largest column-free ballrooms, at 95,000 sq. ft., the size of one and one-half regulation football fields.
Hotelier Harris Rosen not only celebrated the birth of the largest of his seven properties today, but also his own birthday, as he turned 67. Rosen Hotels & Resorts is the largest independent hotel company in Florida, with a portfolio of seven Orlando hotels and resorts. With the opening of Rosen Shingle Creek, the company now owns more than 6,300 guest rooms and suites in Central Florida, approximately 6 percent of the area’s total guest rooms.
"Rosen Shingle Creek is a new breed of hotel," said Rosen, President and COO, Rosen Hotels & Resorts. "From day one, we set out to celebrate the best of Florida’s natural beauty and rich history, while offering unprecedented onsite luxury amenities that our guests deserve."
The $300 million-plus resort not only promises great returns for the tourism industry but also will have an astounding impact on the Central Florida economy. Rosen Shingle Creek will employ 1,500 residents in full-time jobs, generating $30 million a year in income. Purchases from third-party suppliers will create an additional 1,900 permanent jobs in Orange County alone.
In addition to creating jobs, the resort will generate $80-90 million a year in direct output, including guest rooms, food and beverage and other services, and it will add an estimated $4.3 billion in value-added dollars and wages to the community over a 20-year period. During its construction, it was one of the largest building project in the Southeast and one of the top ten in the country.
"This is a landmark day for tourism in Orlando and in Florida," said Bill Peeper, president of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. "The fact that Shingle Creek booked nearly 1 million rooms before it ever opened its doors speaks volumes for the growth of the meetings industry in Orlando and the popularity of the destination among leisure travelers."
The Spanish revival architecture and idyllic, 230-acre setting on Shingle Creek, at the headwaters of the Florida Everglades, strike a perfect balance with the resort’s upscale offerings — an award-winning David Harman-designed championship golf course, 13,000 square foot Spa at Shingle Creek, and nine lounges and restaurants, including fine dining restaurant, Cala Bella. A meeting planner’s dream, the resort boasts 445,000 square feet of meeting/event space and one of the nation’s largest column-free ballrooms, measuring one and one-half the size of an American football field.
Given the magnitude of the resort and its impact on the community, the grand opening event was attended by hundreds of local government and tourism industry VIPs, meeting planners, Rosen Hotels associates, as well as local, national and international media. Former Miss America and Orlando native Erika Dunlap entertained attendees with a stirring version of "I Believe." Rosen’s most celebrated guests, however, were students from Tangelo Park Elementary School, who gathered to sing "Happy Birthday" to the hotelier and to present him with a cake modeled after the new resort. A grand display of fireworks erupted over the new resort at exactly 9:39 p.m., paying homage to the date and the address of the new resort at 9939 Universal Blvd.
Rosen created the Tangelo Park Pilot Program in 1993 to ensure free preschool education for two, three and four-year olds and to provide college scholarships for students in need. Rosen also donated more than $22 million to the University of Central Florida to build a world-class school of hospitality management, which is located near the resort.
Rosen Shingle Creek guest rooms are among the most spacious in Central Florida at 436 sq. ft. and each is equipped with Internet connectivity and a 32-inch flat screen TV. The resort offers a nine-treatment room Spa at Shingle Creek, a state-of-the-art Fitness Center, a David Harman designed championship golf course ranked one of the "Top 40 Best New Courses in the U.S." by Golfweek Magazine, four outdoor swimming pools, two lighted tennis courts, basketball and volleyball. Uniquely situated on Shingle Creek, headwaters to the Florida Everglades, Rosen Shingle Creek offers seasonal canoe trips, nature trails, fishing and other eco-tourism activities. For reservations or more information, call (866) 996-6338 or visit www.rosenshinglecreek.com.
Contact:
Mary Deatrick
(407) 332-5212
mary@deatrickpr.com