At your service: an update of new hotels and amenities.

Southern Indiana, After years of debate over granting gaming rights in Orange County to make restoration of the historic French Lick Springs Hotel financially viable, French Lick Resort Casino opened November 3. Gambling may be the hook, but the reel will be a host of luxurious amenities.

"It's going well," says Scott Spurlock, French Lick Resort Casino general manager. "Our 1,400 employees are extremely dedicated to making sure our guests have a memorable experience." Importantly, they are listening to guest comments to learn whether things are going well or could go better, he says. For example, signage was a concern for some guests because the vastness of the hotel and casino can make the property difficult to navigate. The staff put up temporary signs while awaiting delivery of the permanent ones. Other guests have spoken up about the need for more seating, so Spurlock says "we bought every park bench in the region"--to be replaced later to fit the decor.

They're also taking the positive comments as affirmation for all the hard work and preparation, he says, like, "The beds are wonderful," "The food is great," "The 1875 Restaurant served the best steak I ever had" and "Thanks for restoring this grand hotel."

Developed by Cook Group of Bloomington and Lauth Group of Indianapolis, French Lick Resort Casino is a $382 million historic restoration and casino development project that includes French Lick Springs Hotel, French Lick Casino and the West Baden Springs Hotel, less than two miles north of French Lick and scheduled to open in the spring. West Baden Springs Hotel has been dubbed the "Eighth Wonder of the World" and features what was once the world's largest free-span dome.

In toto, the French Lick Resort Casino project includes 693 guest rooms and suites, an 84,000-square-foot casino, 45 holes of golf, two full-service spas with a combined 36 treatment rooms, the healing power of the famous Pluto mineral springs baths and an array of dining and entertainment options. A new Conference and Event Center includes ballrooms at 13,000 and 6,700 square feet with boardrooms, conference rooms and breakout rooms.

The first of its three golf courses opened in September, the fully restored Donald Ross Course at French Lick, formerly known as the Hill Course, designed by the noted Scotsman in 1917. A newly designed 18-hole championship Pete Dye Course at French Lick is slated to open in spring 2008, and a nine-hole Tom Bendelow Course at French Lick will open in spring 2007, featuring a state-of-the-art practice facility and world-class golf academy.

In short, with its opening French Lick instantly became the premier resort and casino destination in the Midwest. Now the goal of the town of French Lick is to revitalize the downtown area to complement the glitter of the resort and add to the positive experience of visitors.

Casino Aztar, Evansville, is making sure that its 10-year-old riverboat gaming facility remains a big southern Indiana draw, particularly with the opening of the casino at French Lick, 85 miles away. This month it completes a $40 million expansion including a new six-story, 100-room boutique hotel Le Merigot, loosely translated as "by the water," in the Downtown Evansville Entertainment District. Its upscale lounge will be called Blush Ultra Lounge and Tapas Bar. Jillian's Billiards Club and Ri Ra Irish Pub opened in September next to the existing 250-room hotel and across from the casino boat. The existing complex also includes a pavilion housing restaurants, a lounge and a Starbucks--the tri-state area's first.

Central Indiana, The new Conrad Indianapolis opened its doors downtown just in time for the NCAA Final Four tournament. Conrad is "global luxury brand" of the Hilton family of hotels. The 23-floor hotel, connected by overhead walkway to the Circle Centre mall and the convention center, has 241-rooms, 10,000 square feet of meeting space, a spa and fitness center, and two dining options, the upscale Restaurant du Soleil and Vitesse for more casual dining and imbibing with a tapas bar. The project also includes 15 luxury condominiums, whose residents can enjoy all of the above just an elevator ride away

The building of the new Lucas Oil Stadium for the Indianapolis Colts and the planned expansion of the Indiana Convention Center have been the driving forces behind hotel expansion talks for downtown Indianapolis this year. Indianapolis needs a new 1,000-room hotel, city leaders say, and they have whittled down the potential developers to two. Proposals include a White Lodging Services plan for additional development of the current site of Courtyard by Marriott near White River Park and Victory Field to add an 800-room JW Marriott and small Marriott-family facilities to total 1,450 new rooms; and a new 44-story, 1,016-room InterContinental Hotel on the site of Pan Am Plaza, developed by Browning Investments and the hotel chain. A decision will be made this month and the new hotel rooms should be online before the NCAA Final Four tournament in 2010.

Last month, the city revealed its proposed Indiana Convention Center Phase V expansion plan, which involves the demolition of the RCA Dome in 2008, followed by the construction of a major addition to the Indiana Convention Center on that site. Scheduled for completion in 2010, the $275 million expansion, combined with the new Lucas Oil Stadium, will increase the amount of exhibition, meeting room, ballroom and pre-function space operated by the Capital Improvement Board from about 725,000 square feet to more than 1.2 million square feet. The expansion will put the Indianapolis second among the 13 cities it regularly competes against for conventions.

Gearing up to serve visitors near the new stadium is Dora Brothers Hospitality Corp., now developing an eight-story Staybridge Suites and a six-story Comfort Suites plus a parking garage, all to be ready in 2007. This expands their niche of offering moderately priced accommodations south of the RCA Dome, which also includes the nearby Holiday Inn Express. The company also opened a renovated 12-story building as a 142-suite Candlewood Suites extended stay facility this month near the IUPUI campus, and is building two Hotel Indigos, a new boutique brand of the InterContinental family, opening in Fishers in 2007 and Columbus in 2008.

Fishers will also be getting a four-story, 130-room SpringHill Suites, part of the Marriott chain, being built at the 96th Street exit of Interstate 69. Developers are Merrillville-based White Lodging Services Corp. and Carmel-based REI Investments, and it scheduled for a July 2007 completion.

University Place Conference Center and Hotel, on the IUPUI campus, got a $13 million update included renovation of all guestrooms, the lobby and restaurants.

In other 2006 Indianapolis-area developments, Homewood Suites by Hilton opened a 92-suite hotel three blocks south of the Circle downtown in a renovated building, and the Holiday Inn Select at the airport is undergoing a $6 million renovation and will be renamed Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Airport. The downtown Westin finished an $8.5 million guest-room renovation and the Hyatt Regency will spend $11 million on lobby and meeting-room improvements beginning in January.

Richmond has a new Hampton Inn & Suites and Best Western Gateway Inn. In Terre Haute, a new Spring Hill Suites by Marriott is scheduled to open in early spring. In south-central Indiana, two new hotels in the Hilton family opened in Bloomington in 2006: the 168-room Hilton Garden Inn downtown, and Homewood Suites by Hilton on the west side featuring 82 two-room suites. Extensive renovations were completed this year at the Hampton Inn and Courtyard by Marriott in Bloomington.

Northern Indiana. In Lake County, Fairfield Inns in Merrillville and Hammond underwent complete renovation of all guestrooms in 2006, and the Radisson in Merrillville will begin its renovation in the first quarter 2007. In Hobart, construction of a 123-room Hilton Garden Inn is expected to be complete in 2007. Porter County welcomed Country Inn & Suites by Carlson in Portage this summer, and will see a second Country Inn & Suites in Vaparaiso in mid-2007.

In LaPorte County, Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City announced the addition of a $130 million, 22-story hotel with 300 rooms, with construction starting in the spring and finishing in 2008. Its current eight-story hotel has 184 rooms. The new building will be the tallest by far in the region, and follows its recent $170 million expansion of the casino.

In South Bend, a new Hilton Garden Inn and Conference Center is expected to open in July 2007 and the South Bend Marriott completed renovations of its lobby, rooms and fitness center.

Fort Wayne has a new 83-room Candlewood Suites hotel and the Fort Wayne Marriott is beginning room up-grades in January including flat-screen televisions.

Rounding out the hotel expansion round-up with some fun, Splash Universe Waterpark Resort, located in Shipshewana near the popular Flea Market, will open in January featuring a 30,000-square-foot indoor water park open year-round with a 154-room hotel.