Four New W Hotels Set to Open Starting in December

by Ann Brenoff (RSS feed)
Oct 15th 2010 at 2:01PM

File this under: You can never have too much of a good thing.

Four new W Hotels are debuting beginning this December. The new W's are in Austin, Texas; Taipei; Koh Samui Thailand; and a W Retreat and Spa in Bali. All are built-from-the-ground new facilities and all feature high-end resort-style amenities including cutting-edge restaurants and bars. Room rates vary by location and season, but are approximately $300 a night. The rollout plan begins in December and ends in February.

The W Austin, acknowledging the city's unofficial slogan of "Keep Austin Weird," captures the city's local flavor -- although hardly in a weird way. The 251-room hotel, with a rooftop pool and bar is surrounded by the city's hippest night spots and restaurants just steps from Sixth Street and the Warehouse District.

Guests in the 405 rooms (all of them fully wired) in the new W Taipei that's located in the heart of the Xinyi district near downtown can enjoy the hotel's Mega Room, which will be Taipei's largest pillar-less ballroom. The hotel will have an outdoor heated pool and a number of international restaurants. The hotel provides a quiet sanctuary from the bustling city. It will offer an afternoon high tea, board games and free wireless Internet in the midst of East Asia's culinary capital.

When it opens, the W Retreat in Koh Samui will feature an all-villa beachfront resort that is separated from the rest of Koh Samui by a hill. It will have an indoor-outdoor lounge with round banquette seating submerged in an infinity-edge pool. The hotel spa will feature the first "Thaimazcal" treatment facility in Asia, a treatment based on Mexican tribal rituals mixed with local Thai ingredients.

At the upcoming W Retreat and Spa in Bali, there are 237 guest rooms and suites and private villas. Plans call for a raw bar and restaurants that offer Pan-Asian cuisine and grill. There is also a three-level indoor/outdoor bar. The villa retreats are private with security-controlled access. All are outfitted with BOSE home entertainment systems, an over-sized terrazzo bathroom and a separate glass rain shower.

Tags: austin, bali, hotel opening, koh samui, new hotels, starwood, starwood hotels, tapei, w hotels