Westin William Penn (PIT) to becme OMNI
 

On the news in Pittsburgh morning-- OMNI has bought the Westin William Penn effective 1/31/01. Also today Westin has taken over management of the Pittsburgh Doubletree and renamed the hotel the Westin Convention Center.

That's a shame. I've stayed in both, and prefer the William Penn. I hope they plan on renovating the Doubletree and installing Heavenly Beds.

not good news, William Penn is much more better than the double tree.

Bad News - The William Penn is one of the nicest Starwood properties I have stayed in.

That is interesting -- the William Penn is known as one of the, if not the, best hotel in town. Guess Westin must be betting on the new convention center being better for business. (A new convention center is being built and opens in a few years)

So what happens to the Westin Heavenly Beds when the Omni takes over?

Interesting. When I stayed at the William Penn a bit over a year ago, I wasn't impressed. Maybe because I was "only" Gold at the time. But I got a small room, no Heavenly bed, tired-looking furnishings, view of an alley, and lots of wind noise. (It wasn't that windy, but somehow it built up a resonance going through the alley.) When I complained the next day, saying that I was barely able to sleep because of the noise, they moved me to another room. Similar tired furnishings, somewhat uncomfortable bed, and smaller, rather odd-shaped room. Slightly better view, but I traded the wind noise for street noise.

On the plus side, I did enjoy the restaurant quite a bit. Good food and great decor. And the lobby was nicely done, too.

I agree with blackfur. I've stayed at the William Penn 3 times in the last 2 years and had horrible stays all 3 times. The rooms are very small, they didn't have any heat (according to the front desk person because they weren't expecting cooler weather and it costs too much to turn it on). Called the manager 3 times and never had a return phone call while there. I am not impressed with this Westin at all! Their staff is also probably the least frendliest I've ever encountered at a Starwood property (IMHO, the best staff seem to be in the SF and Bay area!).

omni are spending @ $20 million on renovations and will rename it the Omni William Penn Hotel.

westin takes over management but not ownership of the former doubletree (formerly vista intl (hilton)). i believe pitflyer hit on it already but the owner is betting on the new convention center and also a pending application to add on another 500 rooms.

as anyone who has been to pittsburgh will note we have a lack of high end hotels in the city itself. so more rooms ae high on the list of priorities for the city.

a renaissance is opening later this year in the cultural district and plans have been submitted to the city for two more hotels in town (one ritz and one hyatt).

and, rumour is that the hilton is deciding on a renovation project soon.