W Hotels is an American

hotel chain A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suite (hotel), suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a d ...

founded by

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. was one of the largest companies that owned, operated, franchised and managed hotels, resorts, spas, residences, and vacation ownership properties. It was acquired by Marriott International in 2016. Sta ...

but now owned by

Marriott International Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging brands that include hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. Marriott International owns over 37 ho ...

operating around 70 upscale hotels and long-stay

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

facilities worldwide.

History

W Hotels was launched in 1998 with W New York, a conversion of the former Doral Inn hotel on

Lexington Avenue Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side (Manhattan), East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street (Manhattan), 131st Street to Gra ...

, Manhattan.

Barry Sternlicht Barry Stuart Sternlicht (born November 27, 1960) is an American billionaire and the co-founder (with Bob Faith), chairman, and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, an investment fund with over $100 billion in assets under management. He is also chairm ...

, then CEO of

Hotels 1995–2005, created the brand. The concept included dark, muted colors, brushed metal, hotel staff in black T-shirts, photographs, and a bar. His demand for all-white bedding required manufacturers to develop white fabric that stayed clean without weekly dry cleaning. Many properties are co-located with luxury

s known as "Residences at the W", such as W Boston and W Austin. About 3 in 10 W Hotels have Residences. The earlier W Hotels in the U.S. were renovations of existing hotels within the Starwood group. Replacing the lobby with the "living room" concept, where guests could gather at the bar, differed from the traditional hotel. Although W Hotels receives credit for the idea, the underlying concept was once common. In the 1800s, the lobby provided a social gathering point in most communities. In earlier eras, the bar was often unseparated from the lobby. In 2001, Starwood added W New York - Times Square, a design model for the rapid expansion of properties in the United States over the next decade. W Hotels opened its first hotel in Europe in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

in May 2008. Within the renovated Akaretler Row Houses, a group of historic structures built in the 1870s to house the employees of the Dolmabahçe Palace. Opened in October 2009, W Barcelona hotel was W's first in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. In September 2016, Marriott incorporated the W chain into its own portfolio as part of its acquisition of Starwood. In 2024, the

Delano Las Vegas W Las Vegas is a Luxury real estate, luxury suite (hotel), suite hotel. It is owned and operated by MGM Resorts International, and is part of Marriott International’s W Hotels brand. It is located within the Mandalay Bay complex on the Las Veg ...

, located within the

Mandalay Bay Mandalay Bay is a 43-story luxury resort and casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. It was developed by Circus Circus Enterprises and complete ...

, became the W Las Vegas. In December 2024, W Hotels opened W Prague at the Grand Hotel Evropa in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, its first hotel in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

References

External links

* {{Hotel chains Hotels established in 1998 Marriott International brands Franchises Luxury brands