From the Orlando Sentinel:
Repairs to hotel will take months
By Sean Mussenden | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted September 16, 2004
The Hotel Royal Plaza near Walt Disney World was damaged during the last two hurricanes and could remain closed until early next year.
In the interim, the 394-room hotel has laid off 158 employees, everyone from bartenders to lifeguards and front desk clerks.
The hotel shut down to the public on Sept. 3, two days before Hurricane Frances made landfall on Florida's east coast, and has remained closed since, according to a letter the hotel sent state officials last week disclosing the layoffs.
The hotel's general manager referred phone calls to a spokesman for the hotel's corporate parent, Fine Hotels Corp. The spokesman did not return several phone calls this week.
A woman at the front desk was telling callers Wednesday night that the hotel would remain closed through February for post-storm renovations.
The hotel already had hired a contractor to fix water damage after Hurricane Charley in August.
During the closure, the hotel has shut down 75 percent of operations, according to the letter to the state unemployment agency. Though it was unclear how many employees will remain at the hotel during the renovation, the letter said there could be "more layoffs in stages in the not so distant future."
The weather damage marks another significant setback for the Royal Plaza. Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the drop-off in visitors led to the hotel becoming delinquent on a $35 million loan.
The hotel, which was built in 1972, has changed hands several times since its opening. Orlando time-share mogul David Siegel owned the property until 1998, when he sold it as part of a divorce settlement for $43.5 million.
Fine Hotels Corp. purchased the property in 2001 for $47 million.
Repairs to hotel will take months
By Sean Mussenden | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted September 16, 2004
The Hotel Royal Plaza near Walt Disney World was damaged during the last two hurricanes and could remain closed until early next year.
In the interim, the 394-room hotel has laid off 158 employees, everyone from bartenders to lifeguards and front desk clerks.
The hotel shut down to the public on Sept. 3, two days before Hurricane Frances made landfall on Florida's east coast, and has remained closed since, according to a letter the hotel sent state officials last week disclosing the layoffs.
The hotel's general manager referred phone calls to a spokesman for the hotel's corporate parent, Fine Hotels Corp. The spokesman did not return several phone calls this week.
A woman at the front desk was telling callers Wednesday night that the hotel would remain closed through February for post-storm renovations.
The hotel already had hired a contractor to fix water damage after Hurricane Charley in August.
During the closure, the hotel has shut down 75 percent of operations, according to the letter to the state unemployment agency. Though it was unclear how many employees will remain at the hotel during the renovation, the letter said there could be "more layoffs in stages in the not so distant future."
The weather damage marks another significant setback for the Royal Plaza. Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the drop-off in visitors led to the hotel becoming delinquent on a $35 million loan.
The hotel, which was built in 1972, has changed hands several times since its opening. Orlando time-share mogul David Siegel owned the property until 1998, when he sold it as part of a divorce settlement for $43.5 million.
Fine Hotels Corp. purchased the property in 2001 for $47 million.
