HotelChatter - Austin

The NY Times Avoids the Falling Glass at the W Austin

juliana — 2011-07-18T09:00:02-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/waustin_windows.jpg" class="top"> Finally, there's some good news for the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+W+Austin/local/4761">W Austin</a> which recently had to deal with not one but two separate incidents involving falling glass from their hotel, the latter which actually <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/7/11/9547/44934/hotels/The_W_Austin_Reopens_With_A_Hint_Of_Confidence">forced closure of the hotel</a> for 11 days. <a href="http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/travel/hotel-review-the-w-austin-in-austin-tex.html">The New York Times</a> has just written a rare glowing review of the hotel with the reporter not even mentioning the shattered glass which injured guests by the pool or the recent closure but rather highlighting the hotel's four bars: <blockquote>Austin doesnt have many good hotel bars, so the four on the ground floor of the W are welcome additions. The rooms flow into one another and feature circulating waiters and scattered chairs and sofas

The W Austin Reopens With A Hint Of Confidence

ASchechter — 2011-07-11T10:30:02-05:00

Glass panels may be sexier, but for now, wood will have to suffice at the W Austin, which re-opened this weekend after an 11-day hiatus. The accident-prone hotel had to concede defeat when cascading glass panels were quickly turning the surrounding area into a hazard zone. So far, only one lawsuit has been filed against the W.

The above photo shows construction workers diligently re-installing 1,000 industrial wooden panels into the same balcony fixtures where the glass had once been. A city building official explained that in order to fully endorse the re-opening of the hotel, W required the approval of not one but two local engineering firms.

It's Not All Falling Glass in Austin as Two Convention Hotels Get Underway

ASchechter — 2011-07-01T14:00:01-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/61268/110624_congress_ave_hotel.jpg" class="top">Well, it looks like Austin does have <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/6/20/11156/3941/hotels/Can_Marriott_Win_Austin_s_Heart_">room in their hearts</a>and their walletsto accommodate the $4.3 million break in development fees for Austin's newest mega-hotel, a 1,003-room Marriott Marquis. The Austin City Council decided on Wednesday that an influx of steady jobs, the reliable hotel tax base, and new lodging (the city is home to <a href="http://trade-shows.findthebest.com/directory/b/Texas/Austin">several conventions and trade shows</a>, not least of which is the wildly popular <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2010/3/17/132517/564/hotels/Guide_to_the_Hotel_Lobby_Scene_at_SXSW">South By Southwest</a>) would outweigh the inconveniences of construction. An article by <a href="http://www.statesman.com/business/austin-city-council-waives-4-3-million-in-1571176.html">the Statesman</a> alluded to another major hotel construction project also commencing in Austin, this time by Manchester Financial Group (<a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/THE+GRAND+DEL+MAR/local/1572">Grand Del Mar</a>, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Marriott+San+Diego+Hotel+and+Marina/local/2340">San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina</a>)so it looks like Austin

This is the Letter the W Austin Gave Out to Guests During Glass Freefall

juliana — 2011-06-30T09:20:02-05:00

While the W Austin is taking the necessary steps to make its hotel safe from falling glass, it has wisely decided to relocate guests to another hotel.

We've got a copy of the letter the hotel gave to its guests on Monday. Indeed the guest who sent us this letter actually witnessed some of the glass carnage on Tuesday (glass fell from the building on Monday and Tuesday) as he was having lunch at Wich Wich across the street. (You can see a larger version after the jump.)

The W Austin Says Bye-Bye To More Windows...And Its Guests

ASchechter — 2011-06-29T10:28:59-05:00

For the third time in just two weeks, the W Austin shed more glass panels from its increasingly hazardous steel frame. The 36-story building, which houses both the hotel and condominiums, lost several of its window panes on two separate occasions throughout Monday and Tuesday, and now has evacuated all of its guests to a separate hotel until further notice.

Local reporters were all over the story yesterday and this morning, and we enjoyed a particularly well-angled candid photo from FOX reporter Sara Talbert (@saratalbert, see above), taken this morning—can you spot the missing three panels?