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Under swanky renovation plans for the historic La Posada de Albuquerque hotel, the Zsa Zsa Suite will need a new name - maybe the J-Lo Suite.

With Moroccan luxury in their renovation plans for the staid landmark, developers are courting the Hollywood elite in town for movie shoots and locals hungry for a high-end networking hub.

"We want it to be a trendy, boutique hotel that Albuquerque can embrace," said project manager Yancy Sturgeon. "We're building it for our own guests coming in, but we're also building it for Albuquerque."

If all goes as planned, the refreshed and refreshing La Posada will reopen in spring 2008, and a night's stay will cost about the same as a $150-$250 night at Embassy Suites Albuquerque, a Hilton hotel that is among the newest in town.

La Posada, built in 1939, was originally a Hilton hotel - Conrad Hilton's fourth, actually. He and actress Zsa Zsa Gabor honeymooned in the then-glamorous eight-story high rise, hence the Zsa Zsa Suite.

And while Sturgeon said he's not expecting Jennifer Lopez to honeymoon at the hotel on Second Street between Copper Avenue and Central Avenue, he is expecting very wealthy clients with exclusive tastes.

"Where else are they going to stay?" he said. "Santa Fe. Now people who want a specialty can stay here."

When Lopez was in town filming "Bordertown" in the summer of 2005, she stayed at the Embassy Suites Albuquerque, then moved into a rental home.

That was also the year that Goodman Realty Group bought La Posada at a bankruptcy auction for $4 million.

Sturgeon said the planned four-diamond hotel, a project of Gemstone Resorts International and Goodman, will easily accommodate Hollywood types and locals with Hollywood appetites.

According to plans, it will have a specialized one-on-one check-in, a commitment to environmentally friendly practices - including green practices during the renovation. Cutting-edge technology in the rooms and the building as a whole, and a staff that is well treated should ease clients, Sturgeon said.

There will be valet parking, too.

Weddings, banquets and parties requesting a VIP and service will also find a welcome at the new La Posada with 7,000 square feet of meeting space and a restricted access VIP room with flat-screen plasma TVs and other amenities.

Decor plans for the grand ground floor room include casbah-style inlet tables, a wall-fountain that flows through the floor and a massive free-hanging artistic metal web, Sturgeon said.

Sparkling, earthy hues mimicking Moroccan and old Spanish spices and, topped with rich blue, will combine with modern shapes to provide private drinking areas and open mingling spaces.

Sturgeon hopes a bar with a roof-top area and a restaurant, with a yet-to-be determined cuisine, will bustle under an ultra-modern drop-tile ceiling made of undulating silver.

Under the design plan by Strell Design, the rooms also will host a rich pallet of color, lime greens and bold blues, textured khaki and bright whites, and ultra-modern furniture.

"And lighting. We're doing a lot with lighting," Sturgeon said. "Lighting is very important."

Only one of the original lights will be maintained in the renovations, Sturgeon said, a remnant of history protected by the hotel's historical status.

Paintings on the walls and original woodwork must also be preserved, so the hotel design, while ultra modern, can't escape its historic feel.

"That is a challenge," Sturgeon said. "We can't lose that, nor would we want to."

He said he expects the historic status of the hotel to help build the new reputation.

Sturgeon is also relying on the city's reputation to boost the hotel.

"We have many things here," Sturgeon said. "We'll highlight that."

Art galleries, museums, tours and destinations will be highlighted in a mini-exhibit on the second floor, with the first of the hotel's planned 107 rooms.

The city and taxpayers are also buying into the hotel renovations with an $8.9 million industrial revenue bond.

Total renovation costs are estimated at about $24 million, Sturgeon said.

But Sturgeon said he and Gary Goodman, who owns the hotel, believe the flush of energy and funds will be worth it to help revitalize Downtown Albuquerque, the city as a whole - with the addition of between 108 and 120 jobs - and the hotel's legacy.

"I want to take it to its original glory," Sturgeon said. "But modern."