The Hotel logo

[Cedar Rapids, Iowa] – With food, drink, demonstrations and entertainment, the newest teaching hotel in the U.S. rolled out the red carpet September 23. Kirkwood Community College welcomed many hundreds of invited guests to a grand opening of The Hotel at Kirkwood Center.

The evening's festivities include guided tours of The Hotel's guest rooms and suites, plus tours and demonstrations in the facility's state of the art culinary and bakery labs, classrooms and student areas. The celebration reception centered on The Kirkwood Center Ballroom, part of the 20,000 square feet of additional meeting and event spaces in the complex. The gala party welcomed invited guests and college supporters to see the facility built after years of research and construction.

While the September 23 event was a special occasion, it was far from "day one" for the 71-room facility. The guest rooms, suites, full-service Class Act Restaurant and meeting facilities have been humming since a low-key, on-schedule "soft" opening in late July. General Manager Lee Belfield says the formal celebration highlighted the excellence and achievements in both service and education.

"This hotel is a showcase for where the hospitality industry is headed, what we believe the future probably will be for our graduates," Belfield observed. "We are convinced that our teaching hotel is setting the bar for a community college training program. I'm confident to say that in 2010, this is as good as it gets for teaching culinary arts, restaurant management and hotel management professionals."

The core of Kirkwood's philosophy in hospitality education was the key reason the college chose to build its own full-service hotel. The $30 million hotel and teaching facility focuses on the philosophy of "learning by doing," according to Kirkwood President Mick Starcevich.

"That idea of getting first-hand experience alongside a professional staff is a time-honored philosophy. It goes hand in hand with teaching hospitals and the entire internship method of learning. We believe our students will get that rich experience not just for a month or a semester. Our students now see one of the best hotels in the Midwest, serving and exceeding our guest and diner expectations on a daily basis. This is an exciting time and place to see this educational plan take flight," Starcevich said.

The September 23 grand opening event was also a showcase for the many facets of Kirkwood's comprehensive educational services to Iowa and the wider world. Musical entertainment for the event came courtesy of the college's performing arts program. Many of those serving guests and conducting tours were also Kirkwood students.

The Hotel at Kirkwood Center could also correctly be dubbed an art gallery, with well over 300 art works in its four floors. Many of the pieces were created by Kirkwood students or graduates, with most of the others coming from artists from Iowa or with campus connections.

As he considers the flow of hundreds of students, dozens of college faculty and staff, and his own professional hotel staff of about 100, Lee Belfield wryly observes the meticulous bustle of activity around his new teaching facility.

"I've had the pleasure of working with some of the best in the hospitality business and served with some of the best names in the industry. I can honestly tell you this is the most complex, exciting and rewarding project I have ever experienced. Our students are gaining some of the best training in the country, learning what best practices are like, up close. Best of all, they get to see and hear pleased and happy guests in the process. That's when they enter the career path as leading professionals of the next generation," he said.

More information on The Hotel at Kirkwood Center is available at (319) 848-8700; or via the Web:
www.thehotelatkirkwood.com http://www.thehotelatkirkwood.com

A MEMBER OF PREFERRED HOTELS & RESORTS | AAA FOUR DIAMOND AWARD

Lee Belfield
General Manager
319-848-8701
The Hotel at Kirkwood Center

View source