I really appreciate this information. Thank you.

As another alternative, does anyone know when the W Amsterdam will be available for booking reservations, if it is likely to open 1 September 2015?

We expect to be available for reservations approximately 6 months prior to the opening of the W Amsterdam.

Kurt Renold
Area Manager Benelux Starwood Hotels & Resorts

For dates I've been looking at, I've seen Ws in San Francisco and Seattle as the cheapest options in those cities - in Seattle it's even cheaper than the Four Points for New Year's Eve.

And Budweiser is supposed to be a real beer in Germany, too. But once a brand has a black eye in my mind, it's very difficult to redeem itself. I'm not part of the W target demographic, and I doubt I ever will be, so I don't think either party considers it a loss.

I'm really bummed about this. This was my favorite SPG property :td:
I guess it's good that I have started to stash Club Carlson points instead of SPG because SPG availability is getting worse and worse in Europe. The new W is no consolation because I can't stand that brand, despite being in it's target demo.

I think you will find that proper Budweiser is Czech.

Do you apply the same standard to other brands? Sheratons are typically crap in the US (and I avoid them) yet are often good internationally. Same with Hilton's. It isn't unusual at all for a hotel brand to have a different (and worse) proposition in the US compared to overseas.

Like Sheratons the typical US W is awful but beyond North America they can be great.

Closed minds tend to stay closed no matter what the evidence.

Sad day
 

I have been staying at this hotel with my family for 25+ years. I remember before renovation and during and after and through many managers and Robin the Concierge.....Many changes throughout the years.

My last post on this hotel was not positive. I pondered in my posting as I was treated so bad and SPG was almost nowhere to be seen, was the Pulitzer leaving Starwood??? Well now I know! Sad days. They said they were doing record business and it was the slow season last time I was there. I think they feel that Starwood is no longer a benefit for them.....This is sad as Starwood is Heavy in England and France but has lost hotels in Italy, Netherlands and Belgium etc..... The Eden hotel in Rome was also a "kitchy" hotel with strange rooms and corners....sad to see them both go. And sad to see a city with so little coverage for a worldwide brand.

I will be curious to see how they decide to go it and which brand they will affiliate with.....It could fit into the Accor group M Gallery type of hotels.... OR even SLH though time will tell.

I am going to try out the New Waldorf Astoria on my next stay and after that perhaps the Andaz three blocks south of the Pultizer. It is time to spread my wings and make new relationships.

Safe travels to all! NYC

I hope the indifferent service, lack of attention to details, and pain to offer any genuine appreciation of SPG Elite loyalty stays with the management of the Pulitzer and does not move over to the W or even the AMS Sheraton.

The Andaz is innovating in terms of design, cuisine and service while the Pulitzer seems suck in the past. I wonder if that had anything to do with this Starwood deflag?

These are valid complaints....

...from the standpoint of an elite SPG traveler.

That said, we tend to forget that elite SPG travelers aren't the only guests that visit Pulitzer.

We decry their issues often on this forum, but there is zero doubt that the place is almost always running at full capacity. This is a VERY popular hotel, elite recognition or not.

So, I highly doubt the deflag has anything to do with: elite benefits/recognition OR capacity/money issues. The place is a cash cow (no I haven't seen SPG #s but I've seen the place with my eyes and check rates/availability almost weekly).

Good input. So I guess we can extrapolate and say that the owner(s) of this hotel fired Starwood purely because of this Flyertalk thread. :D He doesn't need all these Starwood Plat's whining about his hotel.

Agree that the place is almost always busy and certainly has a grand reputation. But I do wonder if perhaps they are feeling a bite on premium revenue due to competition from the Andaz and for failing to innovate?

Amsterdam is a very popular city. There's more than enough room for Andaz and Hotel Pulitzer. Not sure how a place like Hotel Pulitzer can "innovate" beyond tearing down all of the buildings and rebuilding from scratch.

The wife and I spent our anniversary there and they made it quite a special experience for us. It will certainly be missed.

For SPG fans, the W Amsterdam is opening next fall 2015, so there still will be a luxe and brand new SPG option. The Pulitzer was a nice SPG option, but I would have opted for the newer W, anyway--was planning to visit once the W opened.

I also suspect the possibility that SPG might add the Design Hotels' Sir Albert into the SPG fold with the Starwood acquisition of the Design Hotels may also have factored into the Pulitzer decision to leave SPG.

For non-SPG fans, nothing has changed. The Pulitzer will be available as it always has been. The Pulitzer will either improve or stay the same or regress as it would have, regardless. I suspect the impending competition from the W likely pushed the Pulitzer ownership away from paying the SPG fees.

It's sad to hear that it is leaving SPG. I stayed here a couple of times as a Platinum and a couple of times as a Gold, it was a pleasure each time. I really enjoyed redeeming my SPG points for stays here -- sad to see it leave the chain. Maybe they will affiliate themselves with another brand or maybe they will be independent like the Dylan. Oh well, I'll have to try out a few other properties, Andaz is next I guess.

Cheers,

PedroNY

I like the Pulitzer for its location and its physical plant. Since I've rarely gotten noticeable upgrades (I think I've been given a junior suite once in many stays), I'll probably stay there in the future under whatever it becomes since "Platinum treatment" isn't something I stand to lose.