Saturday, August 18, 2007

Hammons to build luxury hotel, exhibition center at Lake of the Ozarks

John Q. Hammons today said he plans to build a luxury property, including a hotel, spa and exhibition center, near the Grand Glaize Bridge at the Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Mo.

In a news release this morning, the Springfield hotel developer said the Chateau on the Lake of the Ozarks will be built on a 30-acre waterfront location. The 15-story hotel will include 320-rooms and suites, a spa and more than 100,000 gross square feet of meeting space. Hammons will own the property and his John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts will manage the facility.

No financial terms were disclosed.

Of the 184 hotels Hammons has developed, the Chateau will be his 14th property in Missouri. Construction is expected to start in spring 2008 with an opening planned for spring 2010.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Home show takes indoors outside

Wendy David remembers the days when people threw a few hamburgers on their grills, a few chairs on their decks and a few flowers in their backyards and considered that outdoor living.

No more.

"Life has changed a lot since then," David said yesterday at the 33rd Pennsylvania Home Show in the state Farm Show Complex. "Now people want outdoor kitchens, hot tubs, pools, ponds and landscaping. People are spending more time at home and want a place to really relax."

As snow and freezing rain coated midstate roads, a summerlike atmosphere dominated the outdoor-living displays of the Home Show, which runs through Sunday. Exhibitors showed visitors how to turn backyards into casual but beautiful attractions and transform decks into entertainment areas that rival resorts.