W Hotels

W Hotels was launched in 1998 with W New York, a conversion of the former Doral Inn hotel on Lexington Avenue, Manhattan.^[2][3] Barry Sternlicht, then CEO of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Hotels 1995–2005, created the brand.^[4] The concept included dark, muted colors, brushed metal, hotel staff in black T-shirts, photographs, and a bar.^[5] His demand for all-white bedding required manufacturers to develop white fabric that stayed clean without weekly dry cleaning.^[4] Many properties are co-located with luxury apartments known as "Residences at the W", such as W Boston and W Austin.^[6][7] About 3 in 10 W Hotels have Residences.^[8]

The earlier W Hotels in the U.S. were renovations of existing hotels within the Starwood group.^[3] Replacing the lobby with the "living room" concept, where guests could gather at the bar, differed from the traditional hotel.^[4] 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.^[3] 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.^[9]

W Hotels opened its first hotel in Europe in Istanbul 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.^[10] Opened in October 2009, W Barcelona hotel was W's first in Western Europe.^[11]

In September 2016, Marriott incorporated the W chain into its own portfolio as part of its acquisition of Starwood.^[12]

In 2024, the Delano Las Vegas, located within the Mandalay Bay, became the W Las Vegas. ^[13]

In December 2024, W Hotels opened W Prague at the Grand Hotel Evropa in Prague, its first hotel in the Czech Republic.^[14]