 |
HISTORY OF SAUNDERS HOTEL GROUP
Saunders Hotel Group (“SHG”) officially incorporated in 1962
as one of the first independent management companies in the
United States, the family actually points to the year 1940
as the beginning of what has become a continuous involvement
in the Hospitality industry of well over sixty years
duration.
In that year, Irving Saunders, a very successful real estate
entrepreneur, purchased a small hotel across from the former
Metropolitan Theater (now The Wang Center). Irving Saunders
was President of the Broadway Hotel for the next twenty-five
years, until it was taken by eminent domain by the City of
Boston to make way for Elliot Norton Park in Boston's
Theater District.
THE COPLEY SQUARE HOTEL
The success of the Broadway coupled with Irving Saunders'
flair for the hotel business led to the purchase of the
Copley Square Hotel in 1948. In fact, the Copley Square
Hotel was one of the first hotels in the nation to lease
space to a restaurant operator - Café Budapest, a Boston
institution. For the past fifty-seven years the Copley
Square Hotel has had a member of the Saunders family as
Managing Director - beginning with Irving, then Roger
Saunders until 1980, and for the past 27 years, into the
third generation, by Jeffrey Saunders. The Copley Square Hotel was sold in January 2007.
THE LENOX
In 1963, the Saunders family expanded its hotel interests in
Boston with the purchase of a minor interest in the Lenox
Hotel, which was operated by the Saunders Hotel Group
through 1996 at which time the family acquired full
ownership of the property through a friendly buyout.The
Saunders Hotel group recently invested $25 million in
restorations and improvements on The Lenox, a Back Bay
Landmark and the home of Azure Restaurant and City-Bar,
which have received rave reviews from Zagat, Boston
Magazine, etc. AAA Travel Services continues to award The
Lenox with the coveted AAA 4-Diamond and Historic Hotel Of
America designations.
THE BOSTON PARK PLAZA HOTEL & TOWERS
In 1976, in an event that would come to shape both SHG and
the Boston lodging industry in significant ways, Roger
Saunders and his family purchased the abandoned Statler
Hilton Hotel and reopened it as The Boston Park Plaza Hotel
& Towers, the first hotel ever to reopen in Boston after
having once been shut down.
During the twenty-year period that followed the acquisition
and re-opening of the Boston Park Plaza, Roger Saunders'
commitment has come to involve his entire family and has
resulted in the emergence of one of the most respected
independent hotel management companies in the country,
competing in a city full of international hospitality
conglomerates. When Roger Saunders stepped back in January
of 1990 and passed the responsibilities of President of the
Boston Park Plaza Hotel to his son, Gary, the day-to-day
control of the company officially passed to the third
generation.
Sold in 1996, the Boston Park Plaza is now owned and
operated by Starwood Hotels.
THE COMFORT INN AND SUITES - BOSTON/LOGAN AIRPORT
In 1998, SHG began the complicated process of reclaiming a
former landfill for the development of an airport hotel.
Completed in September of 2000, the Comfort Inn and Suites,
at 208 guestrooms, is of the largest Comfort Inns in the
country. As a ground up development, the property was
constructed to be environmentally friendly and was selected
as the “green hotel” prototype for 5,000+ properties of
Choice International, the parent company of the Comfort Inn
Brand.
JURYS HOTEL - BOSTON
In 2000, the City of Boston after a national selection
process, designated Old Bayside Partners (OBP), SHG’s
investment affiliate, as the developer to do an historic
renovation of the former Boston Police Headquarters into a
220 room, 4-star hotel. Operated by Jurys Hotel Group, PLC
of Dublin, Ireland, under a long term agreement, the
property opened in July 2004, serving as Boston’s
headquarters for the Democratic National Convention.
MARRIOTT RESIDENCE INN - MERRIMACK, NH
In May 2004, Old Bayside Partners, SHG’s investment
affiliate, acquired the 129 suite Marriott Residence Inn in
Merrimack, NH and completed a $2.75 million renovation of
every aspect of the property. Under SHG’s managment, the
Marriott Residence Inn is now the leader in rate and
occupancy for the Nashua/Merrimack hotel market.
HOLIDAY INN - NEW LONDON, CT
In January 2005, Old Bayside Partners acquired the 136 room
New London Holiday Inn, a unique asset located on a 10 acre
campus fronting Route 95. A high volume Outback Steakhouse
is also situated on the property. This fully renovated hotel
is located minutes from Mohegan Sun Casino and New London’s
major business activity.
PREMIERE HOTEL AND SUITES – NEW HAVEN, CT
In March of 2007, Premiere Hotel and Suites was purchased. Currently undergoing an extensive $3+ million renovation, the hotel will capture the market as New Haven’s only all-suite extended stay property. The 112-suite hotel, formerly the Residence Inn, is situated in an ideal location, only 2 miles from the city center, and at the junction of I-95 and I-91.
|
|
|
|
