W Hotels Continues to Upgrade Its Current Portfolio as It Transforms from U.S. Phenomenon to Global Powerhouse

W Hotels Worldwide, the hotel category buster and industry innovator, today unveils the renovation of the iconic W Chicago-City Center. As the first W Hotel in Chicago, having opened in mid-2001, and as part of W Hotels’ original portfolio, the completion of this renovation is another milestone for W in its pursuit to renovate and upgrade its existing hotel portfolio while more than doubling its footprint by the end of 2011. Mixing the Beaux-Arts architecture of W Chicago-City Center’s historic building with cutting-edge design and stylish elements for which the W Brand is known, the redesign of this hotel extends to the hotel’s 235 guestrooms and suites, signature W Living Room, and more than 14,000 square feet of ultra-modern meeting and event space.

“As we continue to grow globally, it is essential that we upgrade our original hotels in order to create a consistent lifestyle experience for W guests worldwide,” said Eva Ziegler, Global Brand Leader, W Hotels Worldwide and Le Méridien. “The renovation of W Chicago-City Center follows the renovations of W New York, W New York-Times Square, and W San Francisco."

The renovation of W Chicago-City Center takes the magnificent scale of the hotel’s historic architecture and layers in contemporary cool design elements, which lead to surprising and innovative solutions in a playful and lighthearted way. In the W Living Room (W Hotels’ take on the traditional hotel lobby), soaring columns, oversized lamps and a long, winding sofa mix with smaller furniture pieces covered in serpentine fabrics or luminescent metallics, creating the perfect environment for conducting business by day or mingling with friends by night. A warm neutral color palette punctuated with vibrant blue accents serves as a backdrop for innovative design elements such as modern carpeting that incorporates thousands of LED pin lights resembling a night sky and side tables with liquid sealed in between their tabletops, creating elements of "Wow" as the table’s design changes and moves when pressed.

The hotel’s guestrooms and suites create the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the city while providing a space for socializing. Rooms have been updated with a modern yet functional design, incorporating modular furniture that transitions with the guest from day to night. A bar is available for shaking and mixing cocktails while flat screen TVs are mounted on adjustable arms for entertaining anywhere in the room.