W Hotels glams up for Hollywood debut

Like any good glam girl, the W Hollywood was prepped, primped and sitting pretty for its Hollywood debut. Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. rolled out the red carpet yesterday for the newest hotel in the bunch, the 305-room W Hollywood hotel.

Located a stone’s throw from some of the most famous stars in Tinsletown, (at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine) the W Hollywood opened with plenty of fanfare and some help from famous friends. Jimmy Kimmel and Robin Thicke are rumored to be stopping by the hotel today to show their support for the W’s “civic recognition event”.

The W Hollywood has been in the works since the late 1990s and reports claim it came with quite a price tag: nearly $350 million was spent building this beauty. For those guests who don’t ever want to leave, the W Hollywood has added 143 residences priced at $500,000 to $7 million.

I did a quick check on the W’s site and found room rates starting at $259 for a king-sized “Wonderful” room and $599 for a “Marvelous” room. If you want something a little more spectacular, shell out $2,000 to $4,000 for a suite measuring 1,650-square-feet.

Meanwhile, the W also unveiled its first property in Asia, the W Retreat Koh Samui. The W Retreat Koh Samui and The Residences at W Retreat Koh Samui create the first residential project for W Hotels in Southeast Asia. The property comprises 17 branded residences as well as the hotel comprising 75 villas.

Photo of the Day (10/21/06)


Seeing amazing pictures from Thailand often gets me a little heated and tells me it is time to start planning again for a great Thai adventure of my own. (The tsunamis stopped me from going three days before my flight out. I know I’ve mentioned it a million times.) Sorry. Anyhow, this awesome sunset with water skier shot comes from weegolo who spent time in the Koh Samui area back in 98′. Great shot and thanks for the added inspiration! Hope to see more from this set.