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Sig Tower: Hotel Component Discussion


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Ok this is pure speculation on my part but I am starting to think that the 'W' Hotel may not be upscale enough for the signature. I am starting to lean towards the Ritz or the Four Seasons. I can see Tony adding the extra 10 floors only to flag a marquee chain. Also I think a 'W' would compete (but not a Ritx or 4-Seasons) with the soon to be developed Hotel Twelve property that Tony will build with Novare. Any thoughts?

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ohh - I had forgotten about the TWELVE Hotel. I'm ready to see all of these big developments take place. i think it will be interesteing to see what smaller developments will be spurred. Will we see any credible shopping, restaurants (come on Palomino - love the one in PGH) or other services come online once the majority of projects are underway? And on that note... do we see definite districts here? Is the CBD going to attract any one specific level/market segment of ancillary services and shoppes vs what the Gulch will get vs what SoBro will get?

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Ok this is pure speculation on my part but I am starting to think that the 'W' Hotel may not be upscale enough for the signature. I am starting to lean towards the Ritz or the Four Seasons. I can see Tony adding the extra 10 floors only to flag a marquee chain. Also I think a 'W' would compete (but not a Ritx or 4-Seasons) with the soon to be developed Hotel Twelve property that Tony will build with Novare. Any thoughts?

I agree that a W may not be the best fit for Signature. I think a Four Season or a Ritz may work better. For some reason, when I think of a W hotel and residence, I think more along the lines of something sleek and very modern like the tower in Dallas. Or perhaps I just like that one so much that I would like to see W build something more along those lines in Nashville if they build a hotel.

WDallas2.jpg

WDallas1.jpg

With other recent big projects in the Southeast, I wonder how much interest Westin has in building a hotel in Nashville. I see them more as a brand that would work best in conjunction with the CC.

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He mentioned the site. :D I'm hoping getting mentioned by William will direct new folks to the site, as usually getting mentioned in the media does spike views and sign-ups.

Thanks to William for mentioning us with the other two sites he listed! It was a great article on the project.

Back on Topic: I'm not real familar with how up-scale the "W" is. So could someone breakdown in their estimation how some of these new hotels mentioned or coming to Nashville would rank in order of prestige?

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Back on Topic: I'm not real familar with how up-scale the "W" is. So could someone breakdown in their estimation how some of these new hotels mentioned or coming to Nashville would rank in order of prestige?

I'll take a stab at it:

  • Ritz Carlton - LUXURY

  • Four Season - LUXURY

  • Intercontinental - LUXURY

  • W - Upper Upscale

  • Westin - Upper Upscale

  • Hyatt - Upscale

  • Hotel Indigo - Upscale

  • Twelve - Upper Upscale (could be different as this brand is new and slightly different than most in this category)

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I'll take a stab at it:
  • Ritz Carlton - LUXURY

  • Four Season - LUXURY

  • Intercontinental - LUXURY

  • W - Upper Upscale

  • Westin - Upper Upscale

  • Hyatt - Upscale

  • Hotel Indigo - Upscale

  • Twelve - Upper Upscale (could be different as this brand is new and slightly different than most in this category)

Thanks for the breakdown Memphian! That helps puts things is better perspective for me and gives me a guage to work off of.

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That is a good looking building. It woul look great on West End or the Gulch.

I agree that a W may not be the best fit for Signature. I think a Four Season or a Ritz may work better. For some reason, when I think of a W hotel and residence, I think more along the lines of something sleek and very modern like the tower in Dallas. Or perhaps I just like that one so much that I would like to see W build something more along those lines in Nashville if they build a hotel.

WDallas2.jpg

WDallas1.jpg

With other recent big projects in the Southeast, I wonder how much interest Westin has in building a hotel in Nashville. I see them more as a brand that would work best in conjunction with the CC.

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Wow, I had no idea that W was building hotels like that. Isn't W part of the Starwood chain, like Sheraton? Here in Chicago, they bought a run down, dark hotel in the center of the Loop and fixed it up a bit, mostly restoring the cavernous grand lobby, but otherwise it's still pretty dumpy inside. And they also bought an old Days Inn on Lake Shore Drive that has been renovated on the inside with "zen" designs, but otherwise it still looks like a Days Inn that happens to be very well located. And both hotels have lobby bars that are named after alcoholic beverages and that try to be trendy, but don't seem to be that successful at it. On the other hand, some people that I work with travel to New York and they either love or hate the W hotels there. I'm surprized to hear them described as "upper" upscale other than in their own marketing kits, but I'll take your word for it. Particularly after seeing the photos that you've shown. I love the education that I receive on this site!

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W Hotels does market itself as an upper upscale hotel. The design, amenities and vogue-ness of the chain are what really propels it into that classification. Some more experienced road warriors may not feel the service level is at a par equal to the room rates though. W is a lifestyle hotel intended to make the younger hip crowd happy. THAT is the reason why I think Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton would be a better hotel choice for Signature Tower.

W definitely has a place in Nashville - just maybe not in Signature.

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Ok this is pure speculation on my part but I am starting to think that the 'W' Hotel may not be upscale enough for the signature. I am starting to lean towards the Ritz or the Four Seasons. I can see Tony adding the extra 10 floors only to flag a marquee chain. Also I think a 'W' would compete (but not a Ritx or 4-Seasons) with the soon to be developed Hotel Twelve property that Tony will build with Novare. Any thoughts?

I've not heard of The Hotel Twelve coming to Nashville, is this the same hotel chain located at Atlantic Station in Atlanta?

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I'll take a stab at it:
  • Ritz Carlton - LUXURY

  • Four Season - LUXURY

  • Intercontinental - LUXURY

  • W - Upper Upscale

  • Westin - Upper Upscale

  • Hyatt - Upscale

  • Hotel Indigo - Upscale

  • Twelve - Upper Upscale (could be different as this brand is new and slightly different than most in this category)

I've visited examples of all these hotels, but I've stayed in Ritz (Phoenix), Four Seasons (Austin) and W (NYC, Union Square I think). Of these, W is my favorite. It was modern and high-end. Ritz was way too stuffy and I didn't like the old-ish finishes throughout. Four Seasons was ok; very nice but again I didn't like the room finishes. I think W would be the best. I can see a huge metal 'W' above the 5th Ave entrance, easily.

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I think any of these will be great for Nashville but in my experience a Ritz and or Four Seasons provide the best fit. They are geared more to the corporate market. I have very limited experience in them having stayed only at the resort Ritz properties (Maui, Amelia Island) and the Four Seasons Chicago (a Ritz). I have only stayed a one 'W' at Grand Central Station in NYC and while it was very nice it was very very trendy (red and black). My biggest reason would be the potential competition from a future Twelve Hotel.

on the other hand this is a great problem to have :)

I've visited examples of all these hotels, but I've stayed in Ritz (Phoenix), Four Seasons (Austin) and W (NYC, Union Square I think). Of these, W is my favorite. It was modern and high-end. Ritz was way too stuffy and I didn't like the old-ish finishes throughout. Four Seasons was ok; very nice but again I didn't like the room finishes. I think W would be the best. I can see a huge metal 'W' above the 5th Ave entrance, easily.
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My personal favorite for the Signature would be a Four Seasons... I think that would be the perfect blend of upscale and "hip"... Though the metal W on the Sig entrance (as mentioned by Barakat) WOULD look Awesome!!!

However, it would be GREAT for the W to build a building like the one posted (from Dallas). Thats a great looking building!!

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I'd like to add my opinion on hotel rankings.

Madarin Oriental - Uber-Luxe

Shanri-La - Uber-Luxe

St. Regis - Uber-Luxe

Ritz-Carlton - Luxury

Four Seasons - Luxury

Luxury Collection by Starwood - Luxury

W - Near Luxury

Intercontinental - Near Luxury

JW Marriott - Near Luxury

Grand Hyatt - Near Luxury

Westin - Upscale

Hilton - Upscale

Hyatt - Upscale

Mariott - Upscale

TWELVE - Upscale

Omni - Upscale

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My personal favorite for the Signature would be a Four Seasons... I think that would be the perfect blend of upscale and "hip"... Though the metal W on the Sig entrance (as mentioned by Barakat) WOULD look Awesome!!!

However, it would be GREAT for the W to build a building like the one posted (from Dallas). Thats a great looking building!!

Yeah, maybe they would be up to build some kind of Flat Iron/wedge-shaped building at the Broadway/West End split. It almost seems that the Dallas property could practically fit there with only a few modifications.

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Yeah, maybe they would be up to build some kind of Flat Iron/wedge-shaped building at the Broadway/West End split. It almost seems that the Dallas property could practically fit there with only a few modifications.

I was thinking the same exact thing earlier.... but then I decided that I would like to see a true-to-style wedge-shaped building there. It can be sleek or it can be classic - doesn't matter to me. I do want at least 20 stories though.

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WDallas2.jpg

I really like the design of this "W" Hotel in Dallas, and I think I know why. It reminds me a lot of the design for the hotel component for West End Summit. The way the hotel portion transitions to the residence portion is done the same. I like both projects a lot. Just as others on this thread have offerred, I'd love to see W added to West End. Of course, I wouldn't mind an even larger version of the Dallas project as part of the Convention Center expansion, say 40 to 50 stories. Wouldn't that be awesome? As for the Sig Tower, I think a Luxury class would be just right for Signature, and I think Tony G. can land one too.

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As I said I thought the Ritz may be a good choice. It seems Weston is doing their own thing around the country.

My second guess is maybe the TWELVE, because of the relationship with Novare. They are in line to help with financing and would be a next logical step since they are going i Atlanta and Charlotte.

Who knows for sure, but I would bet Tony could shed light on who he is talking to. :)

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Wow, I had no idea that W was building hotels like that. Isn't W part of the Starwood chain, like Sheraton? Here in Chicago, they bought a run down, dark hotel in the center of the Loop and fixed it up a bit, mostly restoring the cavernous grand lobby, but otherwise it's still pretty dumpy inside. And they also bought an old Days Inn on Lake Shore Drive that has been renovated on the inside with "zen" designs, but otherwise it still looks like a Days Inn that happens to be very well located. And both hotels have lobby bars that are named after alcoholic beverages and that try to be trendy, but don't seem to be that successful at it. On the other hand, some people that I work with travel to New York and they either love or hate the W hotels there. I'm surprized to hear them described as "upper" upscale other than in their own marketing kits, but I'll take your word for it. Particularly after seeing the photos that you've shown. I love the education that I receive on this site!

Personally I would put W a little lower than Westin. W is part of the Starwood chain, along with Westin, Sheraton, St Regis and other brands. W is substantially below St Regis and somewhat below Westin in terms of "luxury." W is Starwood's attempt to mimic smaller "boutique" hotls like the Klimpton Group. Some W properties are pretty nice and can legitimately be considered "upscale;" as you suggest, others are slightly dumpy. All try to be trendy and in some cities (e.g. San Diego) the W bar is a hot night spot.

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Actually, W is considered a step up from the Westin. As an employee of Starwood, I'd know :)

Here is how we classify our hotels:

St. Regis/Luxury Collection - Traditional luxury

W - Modern "boutique" (upper-upscale)

Westin - Modern luxury (upper-upscale)

Sheraton - Traditional luxury (upper-upscale)

Four Points - upscale

Aloft - "Budget" W - upscale

BTW, the W Lakeshore that you say looks like a Days Inn was originally built in 1965 as a Westin (known then as "Western"). Funny, eh?

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Actually, W is considered a step up from the Westin. As an employee of Starwood, I'd know :)

Interesting--as someone who has stayed in several Ws (e.g., Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego) and a number of Westins I would put them at most on the same level, but with obviously different marketing niches. Westin is definitely a "stodgier" brand, and there are some sub-par Westin properties. But at its best it's a pretty good brand.

(Once I spent an hour (for which I was paid $200) being interviewed by a Starwood consultant about what I thought about various Starwood brands. The questions included "If these brands were attending a cocktail party, what would they be wearing?")

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How funny. But it seems very true. I think Starwood is definitely in the lifestyle business. They sell an image with both the Westin and W flags.

I am sure that whatever hotel does land in ST will be amazing. This is a high profile building and if any luxury lodging companies wanted to be in Nashville they'd find a way to get in ST. I am going to hold out for a Four Seasons - something similar to the San Francisco one because it has a very modern luxury feel to it. Other good choices would be something boutique, Sofitel or Conrad.

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I am sure that whatever hotel does land in ST will be amazing. This is a high profile building and if any luxury lodging companies wanted to be in Nashville they'd find a way to get in ST. I am going to hold out for a Four Seasons - something similar to the San Francisco one because it has a very modern luxury feel to it. Other good choices would be something boutique, Sofitel or Conrad.

A Four Seasons would be unbelievably good news. I am not convinced the Nashville market can support one (especially with Intercontinental coming) but I hope I'm wrong! The newer Four Seasons designs are fantastic--I love the one in SFO, which is also at the bottom of a luxury building. They have recently incorporated one in a new Miami building as well. Luxury Hotel/High End Condo is a pretty popular trend right now--e.g., Mandarin Oriental in NY; St Regis in SFO etc.

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