Read Your Indulgence

W Hotels Worldwide to Open Six Properties in 2011

February 10, 2011
W Hotels Worldwide will open six new W Hotels around the world in 2011. Design has been at the forefront of W Hotels since the opening of the David Rockwell-designed W New York, the first W Hotel, more than 12 years ago and has evolved with more recent hotel openings by designers such as Patricia Urquiola (W Vieques), United Design (W Doha), and Ricardo Bofill (W Barcelona), among others. As a way to further fuel innovation in design, W Hotels has also forged design partnerships such as its “W Hotels Designers of the Future” award with Design Miami/Basel.

On track to reach more than 50 hotels by the end of 2012, W Hotels will, this year, open W Taipei (Feb. 14); W London-Leicester Square (Feb. 14); W St. Petersburg (March); W Retreat & Spa Bali-Seminyak (March); W Paris-Opéra (December); and W Guangzhou (December). W has recently launched the Global Glam collection of exclusive designer fashion and accessories. W Hotels is using fashion to communicate its global growth. This week, during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, W will launch the fourth season of the Global Glam collection, reflecting the designs of W Taipei (opening Feb. 14), W Austin (opened December 2010) and W Mexico City (undergoing renovation).

In 2010, W Hotels had an exciting presence at key international design weeks, kicking the year off by announcing a partnership with Design Miami/Basel, the most prominent and substantive forum for international design. The new alliance began at Salone del Mobile in Milan in April, when Design Miami/ Basel announced the “W Hotels Designers of the Future Award” recipients and then presented these works at various W Hotels across Europe throughout the year. The designers’ projects are also being integrated into soon-to-open W Hotels around the world. In September 2010, W was an official sponsor of Istanbul Design Week, hosting a Young Designer Competition and also displaying the innovative “W Hotels Designers of the Future” works within W Istanbul. Closing out 2010, W Hong Kong hosted a variety of special events, dinners and presentations during Hong Kong’s annual Business of Design Week in December. For more information, visit www.whotels.starwoodhotels.com.

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