First stop, Florida for LGBT hotel chain

G Worldwide, which earlier this year announced plans to build five dedicated LGBT hotels in the US by 2012,  confirmed its first location as Wilton Manors, Florida last week.

The company intends to build a 700,000 square feet (65,032 square metres) resort in the gay-friendly US town, which ranked third in the US overall for its percentage of gay residents as a proportion of total population in a 2004 study by research firm Urban Institute.

The firm also intends to build resorts in New York, Las Vegas and Palm Springs.

Renderings of the first G Worldwide "luxury lifestyle resort" on its new website show a clean, futuristic concept with a poolside bar and sun loungers, a roof deck and extensive glass walling.

The New York-based company has assembled an experienced team to work on its design, including renowned interior designer Christopher Coleman and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas designer Mark Zeff.

Nightlife design will be overseen by Michael Cotten, who has been responsible for several of Michael Jackson's world tours, including the "This Is It" spectacular at the London O2 arena, which was cancelled after Jackson's death.

In a nod to the success of the iPad-equipped concierges pioneered by InterContinental, the company has also said that its concierges will carry the devices.

The company is now embarking on a nationwide tour of gay pride festivals to raise awareness of its brand, presenting a taste of the "G Experience" at pride parades in Fire Island, Provincetown, New Jersey, Washington DC, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York.

This summer, the company is set to announce its location in New York City, where it will compete with The Out NYC, the city's first "heterofriendly" hotel which is scheduled to open in 2011.

http://gworldwide.com