Having grown up in Moorestown, just a few miles from this new Westin, I can't help but chuckle at the "Bermuda Triangle" of hotels in the general area of 73 and Fellowship Rd. One of the Holiday Inn chain's original hotels was just across the street and was THE place for Sunday breakfast in the 70s. It has changed hands numerous times and is now, I believe, the Super 8. The Wyndam was a Travelodge, the Marriott (closed now?) on 73 was a Hilton, and about three other properties if memory serves. As for the Westin, we knew it as the "Executive Motor Lodge", where it was told lots of "Executives" motored in with, um, "guests" for the afternoon; but it also had a great bar and club. The bar served many of us high schoolers all we wanted no questions asked (it was the late 70's and early '80s). It fell into disrepair and became something else, I think.

Anyway, I was nothing short of shocked when I saw what they'd done to this place. It's beautiful, IMO. I'll be interested to see how it prices out. It's great to see Westin has put so much into redeveloping a great piece of hotel real estate.

I imagine Westin will be using what looks to be an enormous ballroom for weddings and banquets and they will have no problem selling it. As for the "why bother" question, there's a lot of demand for hotels. While there are many secondary and discount brands, the area lacks a pristine midscale-to-upscale hotel. A fresh new Westin with fresh new amenities will bring in the SPG loyalists and a lot of business travelers.