Grand Rapids Travel Guide
Tags: Hotel Fitness / JW Marriott Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Need to Work While On The Treadmill? JW Marriott's Got You Covered
Question: What do you get when you marry an Internet-enabled computer workstation with a treadmill?
Answer: A complete nightmare for lazy people, poor typers and excessively sweaty individuals — and your newest hotel amenity, apparently.
It is with equal parts horror and glee that we announce the arrival of the Steelcase Walkstation onto the hotel scene, with the introduction of the very first hotel desk-meets-treadmill spawn at the JW Marriott Grand Rapids in Michigan. The Walkstations, which are essentially treadmills attached to height-adjustable, flexible desks with computers, will be available for the ambitious, multitasking guest to use in the 24-hour business center:
At a maximum speed of two miles per hour, Walkstations let guests comfortably walk, feel healthier and more energized all while accomplishing the work theyd normally do while seated. The maximum speed prevents users of the Walkstations from escalating to sweat-induced tempo, so travelers can easily finish a report while wearing their business suit.
Yeah, girl: you can do it in heels, like the chick up top. And you won't sweat into your suit! No pit stains!
Okay, we are sort of making fun of this, but we all know that the guy in your office — the one with the barrel of Whey protein powder on his desk — will be all over this. Plus, since the computers are Internet-enabled, you could walk on the treadmill while watching streaming TV shows while your colleagues finish up that presentation at other workstations in the business center.
Tags: Hotel Openings / Marriott Hotels / → All Tags
Grand Rapids Gets Its First Grand Hotel
There's never really been a reason to visit Grand Rapids, Michigan, but if you happen to be in that neck of the woods, the JW Marriott has officially opened and its first review is not all that bad.
Rooms are replete with the standard accoutrement of the day like plasma TVs, WiFi, and top-notch entertainment. And it looks like Marriott's commitment to technology is working. A reviewer from the Grand Rapids Press wrote:
I quickly hooked our laptop up to the HDTV through the ports on room's desk. Soon, our iTunes were playing through the TV and bathroom speakers.
Yet the reviewer was disappointed with the hotel pool which is only a measly 3 feet 7 inch deep pool. Nothing to write home about there.
What is worth a letter to your parents is Chef John State's restaurant six.one.six - the area code for West Michigan--in the hotel's lobby. Locally sourced ingredients from the nearby Fulton Farmers Market are used to create classic American dishes with a twist. So far the potato-wrapped snapper in a leek fondue sauce has gotten two thumbs up.
Another highlight: The after dinner spot Mixology lounge, which has given Grand Rapid yuppies and guests a new place to sip fancy cocktails and try and forget they're in the Mid-West.
Related Stories:
· I Slept Here [Mlive]
· JW Marriott Grand Rapids Wants to Know What You Think [HotelChatter]
· JW Marriott Grand Rapids Already Thinking Big [HotelChatter]
Tags: Hotel Openings / JW Marriott Hotels / Hotel Animals / Hotel Pets / Elephants / → All Tags
JW Marriott Grand Rapids is Already Thinking Big
The JW Marriott Grand Rapids in Michigan doesn't officially open until Sept. 19th but the hotel made an exception for these special guests--seven Asian elephants who are performing in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey show, Circus of Dreams.
The hotel served the elephants lunch and we sure hope they got the five-star service they deserve, otherwise PETA is going to be pissed. Oh wait, PETA is already pissed at the circus.
Anyways, more hotel animal news:
· The hotels for pets trend continues with The Fur Seasons [Jupiter Courier]
· The Hilton Whistler Resort caters to dogs [Canoe.ca]
· The Residence Inn in Las Vegas takes pets, which is unusual for Sin City [TripAdvisor]
· The Buckingham Hotel in NYC offers an in-room vet exam for your pet [Buckingham Hotel]
· Concierge recommends The Lowell Hotel and SoHo Grand for dogs in NYC [Concierge]
Tags: Hotel Openings / Hotel Staff / Michigan Hotel Reviews / Marriott Hotels / → All Tags
The JW Marriott Grand Rapids Wants To Know What You Think
The JW Marriott Grand Rapids will officially open on September 19* and the hotel is eager to get feedback from its first guests.
Through the end of the year, travelers are invited set up a time to meet with General Manager George Aquino during their visit to share their candid thoughts on the property, the first JW Marriott in the Midwest. To say thank-you to visitors who share their valuable feedback hotel's programs, service and amenities, participants in this program will enjoy two complimentary drinks in Mixology Lounge at the JW.
This JW is already trying to be hipper and friendlier than its Marriott counterparts. Notice the Mixology lounge and what about the hotel's website URL which is http://www.ilovethejw.com/?
The hotel will also be one of the area's only luxury accommodations with 37" flat screen TVs, gourmet goodies in the minibars, Nirvae toiletries, a 24-hour concierge service, an indoor heated pool, a Starbucks, a Six.One.Six restaurant and helipad access.
What's interesting about the design of this hotel is that it has incorporated art from five of Grand Rapids' sister cities into the guestrooms and meeting rooms. FYI, those cities are Omihachiman, Japan; Perugia, Italy; Bielsko-Biala,Poland; Ga District, Ghana; and Zapopan, Mexico. That should help you forget you're in Michigan at least for a little bit. Room rates for a standard guest room start at $189 on the weekends and $229 during the week.
*The hotel's grand opening is September 19th. Guests can call the hotel directly to book rooms for travel beginning September 21. Online bookings can be made at the hotel website for travel beginning October 1.
Tags: Hotel News / → All Tags
Bonehead Hotel Developer Move Of The Month
By now we all know that Super Bowl XL (no seriously, that is what they are calling it...silly Romans) will be in lovely Detriot. Ahh, Detroit in February--no wonder the crowd in Jacksonville booed last weekend when the 2006 Detroit Super Bowl was mentioned on the Jumbotron.
You would think hotel developers would take full advantage of the big game being in Michigan.
However, when the folks Alticor Inc., the parent company of Amway Corp., announced plans to erect a 24-story, 340 room hotel in downtown Grand Rapids with a panoramic view the top of the building resembling a football, we thought for sure the next thing out of their mouth would be "the hotel will be open in time for Super Bowl XL."
Nope, instead, the group announced that the new giant hotel will open in 2007. Doh!
Plans call for a 13,600-square-foot ballroom with seating for 1,000 people and a helicopter landing pad on the football shaped roof. Opportunity missed.
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