As the first guests have begun arriving at the new Sheraton-Pleasanton on Hopyard Road, developers for the new 216-room hotel say they have succeeded in making California's 26th Sheraton unique.

"We've tried to put special touches on all our properties," said Hugh Scott, a partner in the development firm, Gus Enterprises.

"This Sheraton is the·same low-rise, landscape oriented hotel as the others, but with a much larger courtyard than those we've done before,'' he said during an interview at the hotel.

Scott, looking tan and sporty in an open-collared shirt and blue jeans, had breezed in just moments before from windsurfing near Half Moon Bay. "A lot of people might say we should put more rooms on that land but we think atmosphere is important," said Scott.

Located near Interstate 580 on Hopyard Road, the two-story,  140,118-square foot Sheraton complex contains a 1.5-acre courtyard with an extensive fountain and waterfall system, swimming pool and spa.

This garden and stream centerpiece is ringed by five two-story Spanish style buildings with white stucco exteriors and red-tiled roofs. The upper level rooms have balconies while ground-floor rooms have patios.

A Velvet Turtle restaurant will provide the crowning touch on the site. Scott said the restaurant is expected to open on October 10. The two-story restaurant will have outdoor dining and upstairs banquet facilities for up to 200 people.

Designed to accommodate large groups, the hotel's meeting rooms can hold up to 350 in one large area, or 100 people in each of three rooms, or 20 people in 12 rooms.

"We were able to buy more land this time," said Scott of the 11-acre parcel in the Hacienda Business Park.

Gus Enterprises is a partnership of Princeton, N.J. financier Gordon Gund, Scott, and Robert Hecker.

Gund is a venture capitalist whose family members are major shareholders in the Cleveland Trust Co. He and brother George own the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise in the National Basketball Association and the Minnesota North Stars National Hockey League team.

Before helping form Gus Enterprises in 1970, Scott worked with Dillingham Construction Co. He and Gund, whom Scott describes as his closest friend, attended prep school together on the East coast.

Before joining Gus Enterprises five years ago, Robert Hecker said he helped develop several Fresno area hotels.

Besides the Pleasanton-Sheraton, Gus Enterprises has developed Sheratons in Sunnyvale and Bakersfield. Hecker said the firm has purchased property for a fourth hotel in Milpitas.

In addition, the firm owns and operates apartment complexes in Reno, Nev., Fort Worth, Tx., Portland·, Ore., Santa Cruz, and Foster City. The Hillsdale Shopping Center in Foster City and the Portola Valley Shopping Center are also projects of Gus Enterprises.

Of the three partners, Scott said that Hecker provides the operating and hotel management end of an otherwise "free-flowing" partnership.

"We're much more like a family than a business partnership," said Scott. "We're a small operation and we work on one project at a time"

Gund is based in New Jersey and Scott and Hecker rent office space in San Francisco. Both Scott and Hecker said the three partners communicate mainly by telephone.

Scott said the firm's philosophy of ownership to maintain quality" has not changed since it was formed in 1970. Except for the Foster City properties, he said that Gus Enterprises owns and operates its projects.

"Quality is also important in our employees," said Scott. The Pleasanton Sheraton has hired a 40-person staff to run the hotel. "We spent a lot of time hiring people. Mostly, we look for intelligence and friendliness."

in Pleasanton, Scott said he had commissioned artwork for the lobby and ordered limited edition photographs in the rooms. Room rates will range between $50 to $60 per person per night. Each room has two 'telephones, one in the bathroom, custom-built furniture, and all are located within earshot of the hotel's gurgling fountain system.

To see a reproduction of the original article and edition of Pleasanton Pathways, visit: September 9, 1985.