\n\tIn a supporting role, W Hollywood<\/a> made its debut that January at the crossroads of Hollywood and Vine, close to the Walk of Fame, the Pantages Theatre and the Capitol Records Tower. It would soon serve as the setting for many events, premieres, red carpets, launches and zeitgeisty rooftop parties that made the gossip pages.<\/p>\n \n\tThere weren\u2019t many reputable hotels in Hollywood proper <\/a>at that time. Chateau Marmont, the Beverly Hills Hotel, Sunset Tower and others were miles away. But W Hollywood\u2019s grand red-carpeted staircase, sunken-in Living Room, leather cube couches and cascading waterfall chandelier \u2014 so aughts! \u2014 became a new central meeting point between the city\u2019s east and west corridors.<\/p>\n \n\tIn the 15 years since W Hollywood opened, the surrounding neighborhood has undergone a radical transformation: less faded glamour, more buzzy restaurants and hotels such as Mother Wolf, Bar Lis, Ka\u2019teen and Hollywood Volume.<\/p>\n \n\tTwo years ago, in an effort to adapt to its changing setting, W Hollywood began a significant transformation with Rockwell Group at the helm. Inside the Living Room (don\u2019t call it a \u201clobby,\u201d at least not if you work for the brand), the interior palette now features calming greens, yellow and blues with undulating velvet seating; a celestial mirrored artwork acts as the room\u2019s centerpiece; and a rounded staircase and a conversation pit promote connections among guests. The columns in the Living Room changed from square to circular. The bar has been relocated, with retractable glass walls that open onto the garden. A lighting installation faces the grand fireplace, framed by 35-foot-tall, 3D-printed concrete drapes. There also are two new dining options: the \u201cmodern Angeleno\u201d There There for dinner (think milk bread, tiradito and deviled eggs) and The Patio within The Garden for all-day dining.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis hotel contextualizes Hollywood and is a meeting place of all different kinds of spaces \u2014 there\u2019s a sense that you\u2019re arriving at a secret garden,\u201d says designer David Rockwell, who also creates sets for Broadway shows, including Art, starring James Corden, Neil Patrick Harris and Bobby Cannavale, opening later this year. \u201cWhen you think of Hollywood and that surrounding area, you think of homes tucked away behind hedges. We wanted that anticipation, that sense of discovery, and that this place is both indoors and outdoors. We looked at creating cinematic light. The majority of the entertaining happens in these beautiful private homes [in the Hollywood Hills] and so we wanted to create multiple seating areas.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tThe renovated W New York \u2014 Union Square.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Subject<\/p>\n \n\tAbove the social spaces, the 319 spacious rooms and suites have all been updated with 21st century functionality, maximizing work, relaxation and entertainment. Curved seating areas, oversized window seats and custom light fixtures cast a radiant glow. The 12 suites, each with separate living areas, dining areas, built-in wet bars and his-and-hers closets, attract high-profile bookings. Notable are the Oasis suite, featuring outdoor seating for 50, and the Mega suite, with an outdoor living area and library lounge with billiards.<\/p>\n \n\tThe former pool club, WET Deck, features sunrise and sunset bars. The nightclub is now the Loft, offering panoramic views of Los Angeles. It is the first hotel with a 3D spatial sound system by Tempo that creates an immersive soundscape tailored to each person. In a sign of the times, the former ground-floor VIP lounge is now the gym.<\/p>\n \n\tRockwell is not new to W Hotels. In 1998, Starwood Hotels and Resorts visionary Barry Sternlicht commissioned the designer to help him create the first W Hotel in New York City. Often cited as the project that launched the boutique lifestyle hotel movement, the original W Hotel changed the game. The army of staff dressed not in suits but in black T-shirts, and buzzwords like \u201cexperiences\u201d and \u201cprogramming\u201d entered the branding lexicon.<\/p>\n \n\tStarwood sold to Marriott in 2016, and Rockwell went on to design many other W Hotels nationwide, including in Union Square. Now Rockwell is overhauling that hotel as well, following the example of the newly redone W Hollywood<\/a> \u2014 which kicked off a wave of transformations throughout the U.S.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOur birthplace is New York,\u201d says George Fleck, senior vp and global brand leader at W Hotels. \u201cAnd Los Angeles and Hollywood, being the epicenter of entertainment, is a critical part of our DNA. We needed our hotels in these two cities to be showplaces.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe four-year transformation of the W New York \u2014 Union Square was recently completed. Other properties that have undergone renovations include W Austin, W Dallas, W Hoboken and W Nashville. New hotels include W Budapest, W Sydney, W Prague and W Punta Cana.<\/p>\n \n\tSays Fleck, \u201cWe expect that by 2029, 90 percent of our U.S. portfolio will be transformed.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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