The W Hollywood Gets Ready for Its Close-Up

The W Hollywood is still on track to open in just a few short weeks and while we have plenty of shots of the hotel’s exterior, we finally got our hands on some renderings for the hotel’s interior, including a guestroom shot.

We’re getting more and more excited for this hotel to open. Los Angeles has been in need of a proper W Hotel–in the middle of the action, not tucked away in Westwood–for a looong time.

Sooo…what do you think? We are happy to see that the guestrooms here have gone the way of W South Beach, which has some of our favorite new hotel rooms on the planet, as opposed to W Boston, which was a disappointment. But of course, we have to reserve our final judgment for when we see the place in person.

Still, we think things are looking very good here.

While the hotel is to open on January 28th, we couldn’t find any rooms available. However, the following weekend of February 5th, room rates were holding steady at $319 for a Fabulous room with a king bed. (Advance purchase required.)

If you’re going to be in the Hollywood area this Thursday, you should know that the W Hollywood is holding its Grand Kick Off event for its 400 new employees. The welcoming celebration will shut down Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Pantages Theater and the House of Blues’ world-famous gospel choir, celebrity impersonators and even some “paparazzi” will give the employees the Hollywood star treatment. That should put them in a good mood to receive guests!  Via: Julianna – HotelChatter

What do you think of W Hollywood’s guestrooms? Do they have what it takes or should they just hope for a reality TV show? Let us know in comments below.

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New Glass-Domed Rooftop Lounge in New York

Last week, The Strand, a boutique hotel recently opened in Manhattan’s Fashion District, threw a party to celebrate the opening of it’s glass-domed rooftop lounge. Friends, family and press sipped Champagne and stood with jaws dropped, staring at the incredible reach-out-and-touch-it view of the Empire State building just three blocks away.

The glass-roof is retractable (shown here open) and is one of just two in the city. The other covers Plunge, the rooftop bar at The Gansevoort Hotel further downtown in the Meatpacking District). The Strand’s lounge is more intimate and filled with comfortable Asian-inspired plantings and banquets, the perfect spot to enjoy a drink at night’s end. The lounge is The Strand’s sexiest asset, the rooms, while fairly large by New York standards, are simply furnished.

The hotel will likely be hopping twice a year during Fashion Week. As a tip of the hat to the fashion crowd, the owners sourced vintage fashion shots from Condé Nast’s archives and framed them in rooms and public spaces. So even if guest aren’t a part of the fashion crowd, they can feel like they are. And a new, soon-to-be-opened ground-floor restaurant features a cozy two-sided fireplace, another great gathering spot for this mid-town hotel.  Via: Carrie Culpepper – Luxist

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Encapsulated Luxury – The 9h Capsule Hotel by Fumie Shibata in Kyoto, Japan

Japan’s capsule hotels are often a strange concept to foreigners, but the idea is an ingenious way to handle city crowding and space constraints. The first capsule hotel in Japan was built in 1979 in Osaka. The new 9h Capsule Hotel will open in December 2009 in the Japanese city of Kyoto.

Capsule hotels provide guests a private sleeping area and communal amenities. While the concept has previously been utilized as a cheaper hotel option, the 9h capsule hotel adds luxury and refinement. The bed capsule will be made up with 4-star hotel linens and provides a Panasonic system that uses light to naturally and comfortably wake you up. Fumie Shibata of Design Studio S is the mastermind behind the 9h capsule hotel.

‘A comfortable place to rest … 1 hour shower, sleep for 7 hours, have a one hour break / total 9h.’ Guests can spend up to 17 hours in a single stay – the price for one night is ¥4900 ($54,-). (dsgnwrld) Via: Jessica Marcel

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References: dsgnwrld, designerblog.it

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Space Hotel To Open In 2012

Will space tourism stays be possible in just a couple of years? A Spanish company has said that their Galactic Suite Space Resort orbiting hotel will open in 2012. The company is offering a three-night stay for €3 million. It sounds exorbitant but that price does include an eight-week training course on a tropical island and the travel on a rocket to reach the hotel which will float 280 miles above the earth. The company says that they already have 43 reservations.

The Independent reports that “an anonymous billionaire space enthusiast” has given the company more than €2 billion to finance the hotel. The hotel will rotate the earth 15 times per day offering a trip around the world in just 80 minutes. The modular space habitat willl be built around a central docking platform. Each pod has a window at the base and tourists will be experiencing weightlessness during their stay.  by Deidre Woollard – Luxist

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Las Vegas City Center Preparing to Open

www.citycenter.com

Scheduled to open this December, the CityCenter has been in the news all year. But what is it, and where will it be located?  Inquiring minds want to know right!  Well here is a little something for you to digest and get excited about.

The CityCenter sits on 67 acres between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo. Who knows where they found this space, but they are definitley using every bit of it. What we know is that the project is a joint venture between MGM Mirage and Infinity World Developement Corp., a subsidiary of Dubai World….go figure right.

There are three hotels: Vdara, Mandarin Oriental, and Aria.

Vdara (www.vdara.com) will be the first hotel to open on December 1. 1500 rooms with a large spa at 18,000 square feet with 11 treatment rooms!  Vdara will be signed as a non-gaming condo-hotel, which means all rooms will have kitchens. Rates will range from $159-$2000, not too shabby.

Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas (www.mandarinoriental.com/lasvegas) will open on December 4. This will be the brands first move to the Las Vegas market, and will be considered an ultra-luxe property. It will be a non-gaming hotel with 392 guest rooms and 227 residences with the lobby sitting on the 23rd floor (47 stories in all). Opening rates are running $545 per night.

Aria (www.arialasvegas) will be opening on December 16. This mega hotel resort will have more than 4,000 rooms and a huge casino. Aria will be considred the core of CityCenter.  Cirque du Soleil will have a musical production based on Elvis Presley’s life at the resort. Expect the technology at Aria to be nothing but the best. The hotel will also have a two-level spa with 62…..yes 62 treatment rooms!

Shopping at the CityCenter will have high-end brands such as Luis Vuitton, Hermes, Prada, Christian Dior and Bulgari. The retail complex Crystals will have more than 500,000 square feet of shopping and dining venues.

So that’s your little sneak peek into the Las Vegas CityCenter. To find out more, just come out to Vegas in December and experience it yourself, it should be swell!

[Photo: Inhabitat.com]

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W Hotel opens in Washington

If only this one had been open in January when millions rushing to D.C. to witness President Obama’s Inauguration were faced with sold-out hotels left and right. In what marks another milestone in the global expansion of the W Hotel brand, the W Hotel in Washington, D.C opened this past Thursday with a giant bash. It was a jam-packed party full of the town’s political elite, including Presidential Aide Reggie Love and the President’s personal secretary Katie Johnson, as well as celebs like Emmy Rossum who flocked to hear an intimate performance by John Legend. In an event that brought Versailles to Washington, the party was full of Marie Antoinette models sporting powdered wigs and opera glasses while guests sipped on pink cocktails and munched on cotton candy.

The new W Hotel, the 25th to open in North America, takes over the historic Hotel Washington, which opened in 1917. The new design incorporates the 1920s Beaux Arts architecture of the original building with the edgy designs of Diana Wong whose, L.A.-based firm transformed all of the interiors. Wong gathered artwork symbolizing “old Washington,” which she sprinkled among her more modern designs including a digital fireplace, crackled paint, deconstructed fixtures, and new chandeliers complimenting the original 1920s light fixtures. Her theme throughout the hotel is “pinstripes and lace,” to appeal to both the masculine and feminine powers of Washington.

As the city’s closest hotel to the White House, the location features unparalleled views of our nation’s monuments, and can expect to attract an abundance of stately guests from around the world, and perhaps a national scandal or two.

W turned the famed rooftop, where for decades politicos have converged to drink and deliberate, into a modern cocktail lounge, with a menu provided by cocktail king Sasha Petraske of Milk & Honey and Little Branch. The cocktails can also be ordered in the Living Room, W’s design of the traditional hotel lobby. Dining options include the J&G Steakhouse and Wine Bar from Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.The W Washington D.C. has 317 guestrooms in total, including 23 Marvelous suites. The W’s interpretation of the traditional Presidential Suite, the “pinstripes and lace” Extreme WOW suite, is an exact symbol of the new design influence quickly arriving in our nation’s capital.  by Ariston Anderson – Luxist

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Viceroy Anguilla Set to Open in November

Anguilla, the island is part of the British West Indies in the Eastern Caribbean, just five minutes from St. Martin. It is of course best known for its white sand beaches (33 in all) and clear turquoise waters.

The Island hasn’t had a new resort open in nine years! Now with the much anticipated Viceroy Anguilla expected to fully open in November, it is definitley going to be some exciting times for the Jet Set and locals alike. The Viceroy Anguilla will include 166 accommodations which will be comprised of villas, townhomes, penthouses, and single-story residences.

You can access Anguilla by private jet, and many direct flights from St. Martin or through the island hub of Antigua. There is also ferry service from St. Martin to Anguilla.

For VIP Service: These are for clients staying in villas, townhomes, or penthouses….the resort will have what they call lifestyle assistants or butlers to assist your every need. Guests arriving in St. Martin will be greeted by a resort rep and escorted to a luxury yacht for a 30 minute ride to Anguilla. If you are arriving via Anguilla, no worries….you will be escorted via a luxury vehicle VIP style straight to the Viceroy.

Ohhhh, what a life!

Via: Arnel   [Photo: rochousenyc]

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The Viceroy Snowmass Will Open in November at $150 a Night (With 50% Off Additional Nights)

Where: 130 Wood Road [map], Snowmass, CO, United States, 81615

While the spoiled ski bunnies will have to wait another year for the Montage Deer Valley to open, in the meantime, they can have their personal assistants switch their itineraries to The Viceroy Snowmass in Colorado which still expects to open on November 25.

Also still in effect through December 23rd, is a special deal that gets guests who book one night there, any additional nights at 50 percent off. But wait, it gets even better still.

The opening rate on November 25 is only $150 a night for a studio residence with mountain views which includes a king-size bed, fireplace, a small kitchen, 42-inch flat screens and WiFi. The room sizes start at 375-square-feet which is a little on the small side for a “studio” room category but hey, the price is right. Just don’t expect any fresh powder at your feet.

On site, the hotel offers a ski concierge who can get your lift tickets and store your equipment. There’s also ski-in, ski-out access, a signature restaurant and lobby bar, a heated outdoor pool with cabanas and hot tubs and even a Kelly Wearstler-designed pool cafe. (Designer Jean-Michel Gathy did the rest of the hotel’s interiors.) And your four-legged friends can shack up with you as well, for $100 per stay.

If we didn’t already have plans for Thanksgiving (on Nov. 26), we’d make a point of being here.  by juliana – HotelChatter

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Chilean Luxury Hoteliering – W Hotel’s First South American Accomodations in Santiago

W Hotels will officially open their first property in South America (the W Hotel Santiago) on November 17, 2009.

The W Hotel Santiago is a modern take on the varied Chilean landscape by New York designer Tony Chi and Chilean designer Sergio Echeverria. Chilean exports such as copper, wine, and fruits and vegetables are incorporated into the design of the W Hotel Santiago to create an authentic sensory experience.

Inside W Hotel Santiago you’ll find Gerber Group hotspots Whiskey Blue and rooftop bar Red2 One as well as restaurants such as the Asian-inspired Osaka and modern French dining at NoSo and Terraza. The W Hotel Santiago also offers an intimate Tea Library, modern wine bar and WET, a heated rooftop pool on the 21st floor.  Via: Marissa Liu – HotHotelReviews

References: starwoodhotels, designscene.net

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Thanks to Facebook, We Get a Sneak Peek at the W Barcelona

There are still six days to go till it opens, but the folk at W Barcelona have stuck up some sneak peek photos on their Facebook page. The teases!

Up top is the the sundeck at the Altitude Terrace. Then there’s the WET Deck (loving the water all over the place)

The gym – yep, we’d work out here.

And a corner suite. No complaints there, either.

We’re not so keen on the corridors, which look a little institutional:

But if you’re only disliking the corridors, you’re going pretty good. You know how we were saying yesterday that the prices (EUR280/$414/£255) were pretty hefty? Well we still think they are. But we’re coming round to them. A little bit.  by juliab – HotelChatter

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