Ground has been broken at Hacienda Business Park for both the Sheraton-Pleasanton Inn, a 216 room hotel complex and a Velvet Turtle restaurant to be located at the corner of Hopyard Road and Gibraltar Drive. The complex will house hotel and meeting room facilities as well as the 17,000 square foot restaurant renowned for its continental-style cuisine.

“We’re enthusiastic about locating in the Tri-Valley area. It’s a beautiful area and we consider ourselves fortunate to be a part of the quality growth pattern that Pleasanton is experiencing,” stated Hugh Scott, partner in GUS Enterprises, owners and developers of the Sheraton-Pleasanton Inn. “We look forward to providing top quality service to this area.”

The Sheraton complex will be a 140,118 square foot complex consisting of five two-story Monterey Spanish-style buildings with off-white stucco exteriors and tile roofs. Each building faces into a 1 1/2 acre courtyard with a 30' x 60' swimming pool with outdoor spa.

The courtyard will be landscaped with a broad array of trees and shrubbery with lawns, and will feature an extensive stream system complete with a series of waterfalls and fountains which run by all of the rooms. There will be a smaller courtyard on the east side of the complex as well.

Room rates at the Sheraton-Pleasanton Inn will run from $50 to $60 a night. Each room has luxury appointments, including two telephones, one of them in the bathroom. Guest rooms on the second floor have walk-out balconies, and first floor rooms facing the courtyard have individual patios with lounge chairs. The Sheraton-Pleasanton Inn also has master hospitality suites where small gatherings or meetings can be conducted. These double-wide rooms are complete with sofas, tables, kitchenettes and wet bars.

In addition to its guest rooms, the Sheraton-Pleasanton Inn will have twelve 15' x 18' meeting rooms. They are clustered in three groups of four and can open into each other to make larger meeting rooms.

The Velvet Turtle will split 17,000 square feet between two stories. Downstairs will be a full-service dining area, kitchen, bar, lounge and entertainment area. Upstairs will be banquet and meeting facilities.

Three moderate-sized meeting rooms, each with seating for 100 persons, will be able to open into one 3300 square foot room with seating for 350. Also located upstairs will be a plush executive meeting room with hardwood floors, oriental rugs, massive oak table and walkout balcony.

According to Tim O’Shea, Vice President of Sales & Development for SAGA Hotel Food Service Division, owners of the Velvet Turtle chain, the Pleasanton restaurant promises to be the first Velvet Turtle to serve breakfast. “There's a trend to get business done while meeting for breakfast,” O’Shea says. “With our restaurant being linked to a Sheraton and situated in Hacienda Business Park, we fully expect 90 percent of Sheraton overnighters to use our facility for breakfast.”

Built in a Monterey style and featuring a tiled roof, the Velvet Turtle will employ about 100 people and have a capacity to host some 500 people among its restaurant, bar and banquet rooms. Completion is scheduled for October, 1985. The Velvet Turtle has over 25 restaurants in Arizona, California and Texas.

“We anticipate that over 80 percent of our clientele will be commercial travelers traveling on business,” commented Scott, about the Sheraton Inn. “Besides considering his or her comfort, we have also taken their special business needs into consideration when designing this Sheraton.”

The Sheraton-Pleasanton Inn will employ about 45 people and is expected to generate more than $3.3 million annually. More than $260,000 will go back to the city in the form of sales tax.

Construction of the project is now underway and is expected to be completed by mid-fall of 1985.

To see a reproduction of the original article and edition of Pleasanton Pathways, visit: September 17, 1984 Pathways.