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Design Thursdays / Atlanta Hotels / Best Western Hotels / Hotel Design / Hotel Jazz / → All Tags
An Old Best Western Gets Reinvented In Atlanta
Welcome to our newest new feature, Design Thursdays! Thursdays are now our day to focus on hotel design through photo tours, video walkthroughs and interviews with hotel designers. Got a cool hotel design story we should know about? Let us know!
When you look at the above photo, the first thing that comes to mind probably isn't "Best Western". And yet that's exactly what the Artmore Hotel's owners faced when they bought the building in 2009. Since then, the place has been a little spruced up: a central courtyard now features a fountain of fire and water, and the building's facade has been restored to its original brightly-colored Spanish Colonial design (the structure itself has been around since 1929).
Now, after having transformed an average roadside motel into a popular city destination, the folks at Artmore—understandably—are eager to be recognized for their efforts. The hotel's GM writes us:
For photos of the inside spaces, see below!"We want you guys to know about us- we are confident that we deserve a little HotelChatter love ourselves. Artmore Hotel is currently ranked #13 out of 197 hotels in Atlanta, and we are up against mostly branded hotels, so we are doing something right."
Hotel Tragedy / Hotel Deaths / W Hotels / Atlanta Hotels / Hotel Accidents / → All Tags
Two Women Fall From W Atlanta After Guestroom Window Breaks
People accidentally falling to their death from hotels, while horrifyingly tragic, actually happens quite often. We don't have any numbers or stats at hand but since we're hotel news junkies, we can tell you that those types of incidents pop up rather frequently, like on a weekly basis.
We tend to stay away from those morbid types of stories, after all, there's not much else we can say except to comment on how tragic and preventable the fall could have been.
Yet the case of the two women who fell from the 10th floor of the W Atlanta is incredibly scary because the women weren't hanging out on a hotel room balcony or a rooftop. They weren't even outside.
Ciara Williams and LaShawna Threatt were celebrating Threatt's birthday at the hotel in a guestroom. Reports say the two women were leaning and hugging each other against the room window when suddenly it broke, plummeting the two women below. Williams survived the free fall with internal injuries and a collapsed lung. Threatt did not survive.
Atlanta Hotels / W Hotels / Hotel Closings / → All Tags
Atlanta Will Soon Be a Short a W Hotel (But There Are Still Three Others in Town)
No city ever needs four W Hotels so last year when we heard that the W Atlanta Perimeter would be closing, we weren't very shocked. In fact, we were kind of glad, especially since we heard the hotel might be rebranded as an Aloft.
But now that closing day is just around the corner, the hotel is going the independent route.
A tipster let us know that the hotel will be closing on June 1 and indeed, there is a note on the hotel's website with this change. The hotel will go by the boringly named Atlanta Perimeter Hotel and Suites but will remain a Starwood hotel and all the room amenities, decor and services will stay the same.
Hotel News / Hotel Openings / Sol Meliá Hotels / Atlanta Hotels / Hotel Rebrandings / Tryp by Wyndham / → All Tags
Hotel Meliá Atlanta Will Open October 15, From $108 A Night
The word is out: the hotel formerly known as the Renaissance Atlanta Downtown Hotel will officially become the Hotel Meliá Atlanta on October 15.
When we first heard the news that Sol Meliá was coming to America, we still weren't sure which of the company's brands would be taking over in Atlanta. But we were happy to hear it's a Meliá, since it has a good track record in Europe (especially in Spain) and in Mexico and South America.
We can't wait to see how the vacation-oriented experience of these hotels translates into a business hub like Atlanta.
Hotel Hell / Atlanta Hotels / Wyndham Garden Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Boy Gets Sick After Finding Condom at Wyndham Garden Hotel in Atlanta
UPDATEA commenter below pointed out that the hotel closed on August 16, just two weeks after this incident. The building will now house GSU students.
We know it's Thursday and you've probably had a rough week and hearing about the latest grossest thing found in a hotel room is not what you want to hear right now. But you are going to want to hear this story, if only to make sure that on your next hotel stay you triple-check that the room is clean.
A family staying at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Atlanta checked into the hotel late at night on Aug. 1 and noticed that the room didn't seem too clean. The AJC reports:
[Guest Carmen] Jones said she and her cousin checked into the 175 Piedmont Avenue hotel around 7 p.m. on July 31 after spending the day with their two grandchildren at Six Flags over Georgia. Jones said the hotel room was without soap, cups and enough towels.
Hotel Rebrandings / Hotel News / Sol Meliá Hotels / Renaissance Hotels / Atlanta Hotels / → All Tags
Sol Meliá To Take Over Renaissance Atlanta Downtown
The Spaniards are coming to the U.S., first stop: ATL. Travelers in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean may recognize the Sol Meliá flag, and soon Americans will get to know it as well, with news that the company will take over management of the Renaissance Atlanta Downtown Hotel.
Marriott had already announced that it would drop the Renaissance branding from the property on September 30, but on Friday, media including the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that Sol Meliá would make its U.S. debut with the property.
Hotel Closings / Hotel Rumors / W Hotels / Atlanta Hotels / → All Tags
Is The W Atlanta Perimeter Closing Later This Year?
UPDATE: Another tipster says it may be rebranded as an Aloft Hotel. Cool!
Uh-oh. It looks like there is trouble brewing at the W Atlanta Perimeter. A tipster wrote in to tell us that the hotel that the hotel is in the process of being sold to an unknown hotelier. Hotel managers were even told they had until the end of the year to apply for a new job within the company.
Our tipster says the sale should be completed by the end of June but that the brand won't leave until the end of the year. For now, the hotel is open and operating as normal. And we were even able to make a reservation for later in December. So all is safe for now.
But given W's new international push-- and the fact that Atlanta currently has FOUR W Hotels, we wouldn't expect W to hold onto this property much longer.
Heard more news about the sale of the W Atlanta Perimeter? Let us know
Hotel Deals / Hotel Amenities / Cupcakes / Atlanta Hotels / Kimpton Hotels / → All Tags
Palomar Atlanta Has a Birthday and Wants To Give You (What Else?) Cupcakes
We're so focused on hotel openings around here that news of a hotel's birthday—in this case the Hotel Palomar Atlanta Midtown turning one—doesn't get us all that worked up. But when they're going to give us stuff for free? And that stuff is a bottle of wine and a cupcake? OK, then you might get our attention.
Atlanta's first Kimpton turned a year old yesterday (Happy Belated Birthday!), and they're celebrating with their 129 and Wine Anniversary Special. Yep, that means room rates starting at $129 a night and a free bottle of wine.
Hotel Crime / Hotel Safety / W Hotels / Atlanta Hotels / → All Tags
Whiskey Park at W Atlanta Gets Robbed
There's been some alarming news on the hotel crime scene this week, including yesterday's horrific suicide plunge at the Le Parker Meridien. We don't normally like to post on the grisly but when it comes to guest safety, we feel that guests should know what's been going on.
At the W Atlanta Midtown, employees at their Whiskey Park bar was robbed on early Monday morning at gunpoint. The AJC reports:
Two employees were counting money in an office around 12:30 a.m. when two gunmen entered, threw down a black bag and demanded all the cash, police said.
"They gave the males all the money that was sitting on the table and in the safe under the table and gave the bag back to them," police spokesman Officer James Polite said.
No one was hurt in the incident. Police did not say how much was stolen.
Tiger Woods / Augusta Hotels / Jock Jam Hotels / PGA Hotels / → All Tags
Tiger's Return to The Masters Brings Crowds to The (Budget) Hotels
As soon as it was announced that Tiger Woods would be returning to golf at the Masters Tournament in Augusta Georgia, hotel rooms instantly began filling up (those that weren't already booked, that is.)
So with Tiger officially in town, a practice round and a press conference under his belt, what is the hotel scene looking like now? For starters, The Liveshots Blog is reporting that the few empty hotel rooms that are open are going for four times their usual rate.
Meanwhile, a new hotel in nearby Columbia County has been scrambling to open on time for guests attending The Masters. WJBF news station reports:
The Comfort Inn and Suites off Jimmie Dyess Parkway in Columbia County is up and running. Hotel owners tell us they have been working day and night, preparing for their Masters week guests. The new hotel still has rooms up for grabs but not for long.
Hotel Opening Rates / Hotel Openings / Atlanta Hotels / Loews Hotels / → All Tags
Loews Atlanta Midtown Opens with $99 Room Rates
We love love love it when hotels open early, even if it's just by a day which is what has happened with the brand-new Loews Atlanta Midtown hotel.
Ok so today may have just been some congratulatory opening fanfare for the Loews Hotel group and the hotel's developer but the 414-room hotel is still on track to receive guests tomorrow (yes, April Fool's Day!)
The guestrooms look modern and pleasant and are said to be equipped with the latest techy amenities, but there's nothing trippy design-wise going on here (which of course, we wouldn't expect from a Loews.) However, there is quite a bit to do outside the rooms.
Hotel News Briefs / Tiger Woods / Jock Jam Hotels / Hotel Porn / Hotel Deals / → All Tags
Are Hotels Already Filling Up for Tiger Woods' Return to Golf?
According to TMZ, golf fans are so eager to see Tiger Woods return to action at this year's Master's Golf Tournament. So much so that mere hours after his announcement that he would return to golf, hotels near the August National Golf Club were sold-out for the tournament which takes place next month.
Of course, it's likely that the hotels were already booked well in advance as this is the most popular golf tourney of the season. But TMZ says that folks thinking of canceling their hotel rooms suddenly decided to firm up their plans once they learned Tiger Woods was coming back.
We just hope that Tiger himself is not staying in any hotels while in town. After all, part of his rehabilitation program probably involves staying away from any "triggers."
Going to the Master's? Got your hotel room squared away or in need of a hotel room? Let us know.
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