bigjim

I guess that the Jean-Georges hotel/restaurant pairing wasn't a successful venture because his Spice restaurant in the W Atlanta just closed also.

I get the feeling that Starwood must not be the easiest to work with because some of their better restaurant pairings don't seem to hang around.

KENNECTED

Starwood or the W Brand? I don't think the partnership was well thought out. The first of the JG "Market" restaurants to fold was the restaurant at the W Atlanta Buckhead.

People are not at (non resort) W's to eat. The restaurants are not a "destination" in certain locations.

bigjim

Good point because my first-hand experience has been with W-restaurant closings. However, I don't know that I agree with your broad statements that People aren't at Ws to eat. Bacco in New Orleans at the W FQ had a very loyal following and came from the well-established Brennan family of restaurants. I'm not a restaurateur or privy to the business end of things but I was told by several staff members at two of the locations that have closed that Starwood had unreasonable demands, but they wouldn't share more than that.

controller1

As far as the W French Quarter, the Brennan's/W relationship continues as SoBou is a Brennan-owned restaurant.

KENNECTED

It also takes into account if a place is a foodie town. To me ATL and DC are not "foodie" cities.

controller1

Exactly! When I travel and people find out I'm from Louisiana, nine times out of ten they say something about the food and mention NOLA. That probably doesn't happen to Atlanta or DC residents.

GUWonder

DC area is definitely a "foodie" city area. Between its upper income resident demographics and it's big time expense account visitor presence, it has a vibrant food scene even as it doesn't have its own "native" cuisine specialty and has a smaller population base in some ways.

JGV seems to have stretched himself too thin financially and geographically and probably can't manage it all at this stage. Between that and the challenges of operating a hotel restaurant that differ from non-hotel operations -- think operating hour demands -- this kind of pull back, especially in towns where eating at hotels isn't all the rage, shouldn't really surprise people.

bigjim

Too complex to get into here but because I didn't clarify enough in my earlier post you are technically correct; however, there is a huge divide between Ralph Brennan and Dickie Brennan.

bigjim

Agree 100% - other than NYC, there are few areas where you can sample some very authentic cuisines from all over the world and generally at decent prices. The upper end spectrum is also there if that's what you're looking for.

thetenken

Just checked in, 11:30pmish tonight. Booked spectacular room, got no upgrade (not talking to a suite as a plat, just something more than what I booked). Front desk claimed no available rooms said they could give 500 points for inconvenience. Quick search revealed all tiers above basically available. Front desk indicated they would check for upgrade tomorrow. Room is small, wife said room was like a motel.

Pretty much all tiers available also for tomorrow, will see what happens. Had heard that new management had done better with platinum recognition here, but may not actually be the case...

KENNECTED

Why didn't you ask for management? You posted here.

heakja

+1. Ask politely, then file a customer complaint to spg if needed. Hotels need to learn the spg platinum upgrade rules.

KENNECTED

Bingo. Also, there could be a discrepancy with actual inventory at the hotel and what SPG is show. We all know there can be variables, room blocks taken out of service; Last minute maintenance issues, etc. and Management can tell you that.

The only real way to find out about room allocation/assignment, is to ask at the exact time of the "issue". Then, if you're not satisfied with the answer, call CCS.

thetenken

Yup, I called down after I reached the room to talk to the front desk. I indicated that there did not seem to be an upgrade at all, and if there were any upgrades. They claimed they had upgraded me as a Gold to a Spectacular Room, but I had already booked that room. I told them I was Platinum, and they offered me 500 points. Said no other rooms available, but they would check the next day. Suffice to say I received no message or call after concerning possible upgrades.

I feel I politely asked and double checked. As others have indicated elsewhere, did not feel like begging further for an upgrade.

Received a generic message the next day asking about if they could make my stay better, so I replied to that with the situation report. Received an email response back indicating that they were fully booked, and they did not know I was a Platinum but have since updated their system (which should have happened the night before) and nothing they could do.

Anyway, writing in this forum to let others know that they are not as Platinum friendly as other earlier posts would indicate. I read this thread before booking this hotel, thinking that upgrades would not have to be begged for. This post is for people more like me who may lurk and rely on information in this thread to make decisions on hotels.

Something also wrong with the bathroom shower design. Water leaks all over the floor when showering.

View from the rooftop lounge is nice. Rooms as others have said are small with that futuristic, plasticky W hotel look.

Stayed at St. Regis a few nights before, definitely larger rooms than W, location just a few blocks away northwest. Would recommend as other posters mentioned above W unless you like the young, W bar feel.

SeattleAmber

This interesting because I had pretty much the exact same experience, except I am gold and really didn't expect an upgrade (staying on points) or 500 points for my inconvenience. However seeing that this is a trend makes me wonder why they don't want to upgrade people when upgrades are available?