St. Regis Becomes Ritz-Carlton

(Crystal Proenza is associate editor of Real Estate Florida.)

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Inc. has announced that the Castillo Grand LLC-owned St. Regis Resort located at One North Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. will no longer be carrying the St. Regis name as of Aug. 10. Clearwater-based Castillo Grand says that the 192-room luxury beachfront hotel will be managed by Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. LLC under a 30-year agreement. The property will be renamed the Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale.

“We have had some ongoing differences between Starwood and our company for about three years or four years,” Fred Bullard, Castillo Grand managing partner, tells GlobeSt.com. He cites frequent changes in Starwood management as part of those unresolved issues. The hotel’s 320 employees are expected to remain through the management change, which Bullard says will make operations smoother and more productive.