West Paces Takes On The Ritz

USA Today reports that West Paces Hotel Group will spend $700 million to create a luxury hotel chain. The new chain, called Solis Hotels & Resorts, will initially open six hotels, which are meant to compete with the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton chains. The first hotel will be in Chicago with others planned in San Antonio, the Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley, the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, Frankfurt, Germany and Orlando, Florida. The focus of these hotels will be service rather than architecture and design. West Paces currently runs several hotels including L'Auberge de Sedona in Sedona, Ariz.; the Parkhotel in Euskirchen, Germany; and Hotel Avandaro Golf & Spa in Valle de Bravo in Sierra Madre, Mexico. What is most important to you in a luxury hotel: is it design or service?