W Hotels
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| File:W Hotels Logo.gif | |
 W in Union Square, New York City | |
| Industry | Hospitality |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 |
Number of locations | 46+ hotels[1] |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Parent | Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide |
| Website | www |
W Hotels & Resorts is a luxury hotel chain owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide[2] that is generally marketed toward a younger crowd than their other upscale properties. As of February 2013, W operates 46 hotels in 24 countries and is continuing to expand both domestically and internationally.[1]
History
W Hotels was launched in 1998 with the W New York,[3] a conversion of the old Doral Inn hotel at 541 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. The first few W hotels were mainly conversions of existing hotels already within the Starwood group. The W expanded its number of flagship properties quickly in the United States over the next decade and is now focusing its expansion efforts abroad for the most part.
W opened its first hotel in Europe in Istanbul in May 2008. The hotel, located in the renovated Akaretler Row Houses, a group of historic structures built in the 1870s to house the employees of the Dolmabahçe Palace, blends the traditional Ottoman design of the row houses with the contemporary feel of the luxury hotel chain. The W Barcelona hotel was W's first in Western Europe and opened in October 2009. It features a futuristic design by architect Ricardo Bofill in the shape of a sail and, standing 26 stories tall, it can be seen from all over the city. At the moment, the W Doha Hotel and Residences is the only W property in the Middle East and North Africa, though there are several properties currently in development for the United Arab Emirates and India. W's most notable properties under-development includes the 62 storey W MUMBAI also known as Namaste Tower.
Features
For example, the lobbies of all the hotels are known as the "Living Room." W Hotels attempt to include the letter W wherever possible - the swimming pool is known as "Wet", the concierge is known as "Whatever Whenever", the laundry bag is known as "Wash" and so on. Many of the W properties are accompanied by their well regarded "Bliss" spas.
Notable hotels
- W Amsterdam
- Hotel Washington (Washington, D.C.)
- W San Francisco
- W Philadelphia/Element (currently under construction) 1st hotel in Starwood portfolio to feature two different hotels under the same roof.
- W Istanbul
- W Saint Petersburg
- W Singapore
- W New Orleans
- W New York Downtown Hotel and Residences
- W Boston Hotel and Residences
- W Union Square New York
- W Hollywood
- W Fort Lauderdale
- W South Beach
- W Minneapolis – The Foshay
- W Retreat Bali Seminyak
- W Doha
- W Barcelona
- W Hong Kong
- W Taipei
- W Retreat Koh Samui
- W Retreat Fesdhoo, Maldives
- W Verbier
- W Seoul
- W Santiago
- W Montreal
- W Bangkok
Gallery
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W in Washington D.C. -
W in New Orleans -
W in Downtown NYC -
W in Union Square, NYC -
W in Boston -
W in Hoboken, New Jersey -
W in Dallas -
W in Barcelona -
W in Hong Kong -
W in Bali -
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References
- ^ a b "Starwood Hotels and Resorts Annual Report" (PDF). Starwood Hotels and Resorts. 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
- ^ Reuters. "Starwood Hotels says it's exploring strategic alternatives". Fortune. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ Karmin, Craig (December 23, 2014). "Starwood's Sternlicht Returns to Hotel Operations". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
External links
