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W Hotels

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W Hotels
IndustryHospitality
Founded1998
Number of locations
80 hotels[1]
Area served
Worldwide
ParentMarriott International
Websitew-hotels.marriott.com

W Hotels is a luxury hotel chain owned by Marriott International[2] that is generally marketed towards a younger age group than their other upscale properties. As of July 2017, W operates 52 hotels in 25 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. In 2001 Starwood added W New York - Times Square and made it its Starship property. The W expanded its number of 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. W's most notable properties under-development includes the 62 storey W MUMBAI also known as Namaste Tower.

Features

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 and Service Express 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.

Many W properties are co-located with luxury apartments known as "Residences at the W" such as W Boston and W Austin. These residences are also marketed towards a younger, more affluent demographic than other properties in the area.

Locations

North America

Caribbean

South America

Central America

Europe

Africa

Middle East

Asia Pacific

References

  1. ^ a b "Starwood Hotels and Resorts Annual Report" (PDF). Starwood Hotels and Resorts. 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  2. ^ Reuters. "Starwood Hotels says it's exploring strategic alternatives". Fortune. Retrieved 5 October 2015. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ Karmin, Craig (December 23, 2014). "Starwood's Sternlicht Returns to Hotel Operations". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
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