I fequently see references/questions to the "W" hotel. There appears to be a "W" in many cities. I am fairly well traveled but the meaning of this escapes me and I feel left out! What is a "W" hotel? Thanks!

W Hotels (n.) Upscale hotel chain located in major cities worldwide Member of Starwood Chains (Westin, Sheraton, Fourpoints, etc.)

http://www.whotels.com/home.html

I may be asking for major debate here, but as a Starwood Preferred customer who has stayed in a lot of Sheratons, Westins, and now W hotels this is my opinion of how they decide to do a W hotel. "OK, we've acquired this building for redoing as a new hotel. The rooms are much too tiny for anyone to be happy with, so let's do it in a very understated "trendy" decor and call it a W so people will think it's something special." Frankly this is what I call the Schrager mentality. If it is considered trendy enough, no one is supposed to complain that the room is so tiny you can't move in it and there's no place to set your toiletries in a bathroom already laden with special "boutique" items.

I'm with you, Patrick. A tiny room with decor from the Pottery Barn catalog doesn't necessarily make a "fab" hotel in my mind. I've stayed in three and am pretty "ho hum" about the entire concept. The neat thing for Starwood is that doubled the rates of whatever hotel was in the building previously!

Thanks! I am also a member of Starwood and have stayed at Westins and Sheratons but the whole "W" thing escaped me. After reading the replies, I don't think I'll be looking into them any further. Thanks, again.

I have to agree with Patrick on this issue but I certainly admire the marketing savvy that Ian Schrager and Starwood have brought to bear on this. As the saying goes... "It's not how you feel... it's how you look!"

At the W hotel in L. A, they have complimentary slinky's in the suites and there is water that gushes out beneath the steps to the entrance of the hotel... I guess that makes it worth the extra money

I stayed at W Union Square in NYC. It was mixed bag. Bad customer service but the room was excellent.

It's definitely a "minimalist" hotel chain. Dark interiors (at least in Seattle)--probably good for someone trying to be discreet if they are having an affair. Not my cup of tea!

The W is a fun place to stay at if you're young. It's definitely geared toward younger travellers. The bar and lounge activities are usually great. The people complaining about the chain are probably too old to enjoy it.

Rick, I'm 35. Probably right in the middle of the prime demographics for "W" income-wise, age-wise, etc. I stand by my previous statement that "hip" isn't always better.

While the bars at the 3 W hotels I've patronized did seem to have lots of 20somethings, the guests are definitely older...30s and 40s predominantly.

Rick is so young he doesn't realize how rude he is!

The "W" in New Orleans used to be a Four Points, Sheraton's budget brand. Now they charge $300 a night for the same room that used to be $75. The bar is small trendy and nice. The rooms are overpriced though.

I have reservations at the W San Francisco due to a great rate of $235.
Is it going to be a letdown? Really tiny rooms? Minimalist nouveau faux decor?

Caryn, I've stayed at W hotels in New York, SF and Atlanta. I got good rates at all 3 and may stay was fine at all three. I did think the decor was a bit much and I would have preferred good service rather than "cool" furnishings. That rate ($235) is a good deal in SF! And for what it's worth, the W SF was the best of the three.

Agree with John. The W in SF is a very nice property. Caryn - you should enjoy it. Good rate too!

Thanks very much for the reassurance, guys. I'll be there several days for meetings at the Moscone Ctr so the last thing I wanted was to be stuck in a subpar hotel.

I've stayed at the W in NYC, SF, and SEA. I'm not a 20-something, but I've had GREAT rooms in SF (view of the Bay Bridge, part of the city, HUGE room compared to the St. Francis) and SEA. Plus, I love having a CD player in my room as well as the Heavenly beds!

Also, I've found the W staff in SF to be absolutely wonderful! IMHO though, I'd skip the NYC W.