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W Hotels turn 15

HotelNewsNow has an article this week, “W put ‘lifestyle’ on map 15 years ago,” sharing some insight into how W Hotels impacted the development of lifestyle hotels.

Interestingly the comments on this article point to Kimpton Hotels as launching this trend a decade earlier, but without the marketing power of SPG to push the concept into the public eye.

My first W Hotel stays were in 2003 at W Newark Silicon Valley (now an Aloft hotel) and W Sydney in Woolloomooloo (now a Taj Hotel).

Since then I have stayed at W San Francisco, W Chicago Lakeshore, W Washington D.C. and W New York Union Square. I have also visited a couple other W Hotels.

Lost W Hotel of Woolloomooloo (8-26-2012).

My hassle-free stay @W New York Union Square (10-5-2012)

W Silicon Valley, Newark, California (5-30-2011)

W Silicon Valley Fly-by in HD (July 28, 2009) – This piece touches on the adjacent wildlife refuge and history of sea salt production in San Francisco Bay.

W San Francisco in HD (Sep 4, 2009) – Loads of photos

My Square Foot – Are Hotels Like Men? (8-30-2010) – commentary on W San Francisco room size.

W Chicago Lakeshore Hotel (Oct. 26, 2010)

W Chicago City Center in Blue Ray (October 27, 2010)

W Barcelona Extreme WOW Suite (9-19-2012)

2 Comments

  • GUWonder May 2, 2013

    The W hotels, from the start, have seemed to have way more of a “nightlife” entertainment angle than the Kimpton hotels before them.

  • How time flies! 15 years? I remember when the first W was launched – the impact they’ve had on the industry is amazing thanks to the SPG powerhouse.

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