Retail Roundup: A new hotel and fresh Philips Place shops

Today is brimming over with grand opening announcements, from Hotel Sierra uptown, to Brooks Brothers at Philips Place and Citi Trends in Monroe.

After delays, the new hotel next to Time Warner Cable Arena is open for business. Actually, Hotel Sierra was open during the NCAA tournament rounds played in Charlotte two weeks ago, but the grand opening cocktail party and ribbon-cutting is today (March 31).

Featuring a seventh-floor rooftop terrace and other amenities like a pool that can be covered with a a hard floor and lit from below, the upscale hotel is part of a small chain owned by Lodgeworks. The dozen-location chain is adding four cities, including Charlotte, this year. Hotel Sierra will add its 163 rooms to the 4,000 or so in Center City that the Democratic National Convention has booked for 2012.

At Philips Place, Brooks Brothers has completed its move from nearby SouthPark Mall and opened in an 8,800-square-foot store. The move has been underway since it was announced last year.

The high-end shopping center also announced Thursday that men's shoemaker Allen Edmonds Shoes is moving into a 1,700-square-foot store previously occupied by Old Dog Clothing Co. And Bevello, a woman's clothing and accessory boutique based in Raleigh, will take over a 2,000-square-foot store formerly occupied by the Poole Shop.

Both Allen Edmonds and Bevello are set to open this spring, said Lincoln Harris, which leases and manages Philips Place.