W Brand Busy This Summer, Fall

Last night, the W Chicago-City Center threw a party to show off its "re-wondered" guestrooms, meeting space and living room. It was said to be quite an affair with a runway fashion show, an LA-based DJ, body-painted models, a human vending machine and a special performance by Pop/R&B artist Kat DeLuna (see photos here).

Meanwhile, here’s an update on the W brand from Carlos Becil, vice president of brand management.

Becil says the number of W properties (currently 30) will double over the next three years, with prominent locations opening both in the United States and internationally, starting next week.

First comes the W South Beach, a condo-hotel in which all 312 rooms are positioned to have an ocean view. Interiors are done by Yabu Pushelberg, and a Mr. Chow restaurant is set to open at the property in mid-August.

Immediately on the South Beach property’s heels is a Washington, D.C. opening (317 rooms)–just a block from the White House, with a roof terrace bar overlooking the president’s residence, featuring a cocktail menu from Sasha Petraske. The property also will offer Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s J&G Steakhouse.

Then, in October, the 473-key W Barcelona–designed by architect Ricardo Bofill and inspired by the sail of a ship–will open on the new entrance of the Port of Barcelona, with direct beach access, becoming W’s flagship property in Western Europe.

By the end of the year, the brand will have opened 10 new hotels, with 10 more openings looking likely for 2010, Becil says, including downtown New York and London.

And just this morning, Meridia Capital Hospitality announced that it obtained a long-term loan for use toward financing a mixed-use refurbishment project that will include the W Paris Opera hotel, scheduled for a 2011 opening.
 
"Obviously the financing market is a challenge now," Becil notes, "but we’re working with strong developers," he explains. "We are going into the right destinations with great partners. We’re being cautious and moving ahead, and we feel like our locations are in the right places, so the banks and financing companies are supportive of where we’re going."