|
From: W Hotels worldwide | 0 shares 10 reads |
Conscious design and neighborhood culture come together to create a social hub where locals feel at home and guests feel like locals
NASHVILLE, Tennessee, October 6, 2021 // PRNewswire // – A new stage is being created in Music City. W Hotels Worldwide, part of Marriott International, today announced the opening of W Nashville. Embedded in the vibrant and diverse Gulch district, the 14-story mirror tower offers an incomparable, voyeuristic view of the hotel’s social spaces and creates a destination within a travel destination where guests from all over the world can immerse themselves in a locally charged cultural scene. The W Nashville was designed from the outside in, with six street-level entrances providing unparalleled access for hotel guests and locals alike. In other words, W Nashville is not just in the neighborhood, it is part of it.
“The W experience has always been geared towards a local, social scene, but W Nashville takes it to the next level,” said Tom Jarrold, global brand leader, W Hotels Worldwide. “Today’s global traveler is not satisfied with staying in a hotel with superficial neighborhood references, and locals don’t accept hotels that ignore the social fabric of the community. W Nashville is different in that it blends seamlessly and authentically into the gulch thanks to the brand’s special lens. “
Detail-oriented design
The thoughtful, upscale and anything but clichéd concept, programming and design direction of W Nashville were led by hospitality veterans David Tessier and Anna Gomez of Hospitality Gaming Advisors along with local partner Mark Bloom and by the 12th Ave Realty Holding Company LLC developed. The public areas and guest rooms were created by the award-winning Rockwell Group, which honors both the industry and craft of Nashville through the use of historic, sturdy local materials such as iron, steel, wood, leather and polished and raw concrete. The spatial experience that HKS Architecture brings to life is impressive and invites you to look, discover and explore, with an emphasis on indoor-outdoor flows, which are an indelible part of southern design. In fact, it has over 26,000 square meters of outdoor space, an impressive amount for a city hotel.
“Authenticity was at the heart of this project. Every decision and choice we made in terms of design, materials, surfaces, art and our employees took this into account. This gives the hotel a very haptic quality and there is something on every corner visually provocative. All of our amenities and offerings have a unique character and identity. We believe our guests are engaged and curious to discover places that evoke different emotions, “said David Tessier, President, Hospitality Gaming Advisors.
This discovery begins in Welcome Den, a new concept from W Hotels. Accessible only with the room key, it is a place where hotel guests can relax, take business calls and enjoy a specially prepared drink. The W Nashville has 286 rooms and 60 suites – most Nashville hotels – including two Extreme WOW (Presidential) suites. The unmistakable room design combines industrial shine with warm, calming tones and a mix of raw materials such as leather and exposed concrete. Furniture is subtly inspired by vintage stereos and features rivet detailing like a roadie cabinet, while televisions are surrounded by speaker cloth. The brand’s signature Mix Bar is eye-catching, lit in a gold, mirrored cage to encourage in-room entertainment. A reusable water bottle is provided on arrival to use with the cocktail ice and filtered water stations on each floor. All WOW and Extreme WOW suites have a balcony and a seductive view of the WET deck from above. Extreme WOW Suites also have a discreet music booth, dining area, lounge and galley kitchen.
Art and soul
Such sophisticated and informed design requires an equally inspired collaboration with some of the most creative and versatile artisans and artists in the country. The result is a variety of original prints, photographs, and other works, including a monumental 96-inch Jim Dine double-hearted “Atlantic Love Letter” canvas – the first piece seen upon entering the hotel. A colorful and whimsical outdoor experience mural by the renowned Kelsey Montague shows a suitcase for guests to sit on and acts as a metaphor for the playfulness that awaits inside. Perhaps the crown jewel of the W Nashville collection is a series of original prints from the godfather of rock ‘n’ roll photography, Jim Marshall, a longtime fan and guest of W Hotels.
Each room at the W Nashville features an original commission from Brooklyn-based FAILE studio. Inspired by Pop Art, the piece celebrates the city’s musical soul and features a female figure symbolizing the innocence of young talent who come to Nashville to make it big. Our heroine meets a wolf who embodies the music industry as tempting but difficult and insecure.
As the creative capital of the South, there was no shortage of local artists when it came to decorating W Nashville. Examples include embossed, hand-sewn leather wall panels with roses and guitar pick details by leatherworker Joseph Verzilli of Lockeland Leather and Derrick Castle of Straw Castle, as well as a Jimi Hendrix mural by street artist Bryan Deese on the facade of the building. All the art that speaks to the soul – and the soundtrack – of Tennessee.
The pulse of the gulch
The W Nashville is designed to be explored day and night for locals looking for a place to have coffee during the day and sip cocktails at night. With a city block feel and six street-access eateries, including a neighborhood cafe, two destination restaurants, and soon to be a high-end retail and live entertainment venue, W Nashville is a social nexus within the Gulch that is more structured and diverse than what you normally find in a hotel. The relaxed, communal neighborhood atmosphere begins with an unexpected use of the outdoor area: the Spanish Steps, 42 concrete stairs with seating platforms made of warm wood that function as a meeting point and amphitheater (a reference to the iconic meeting place in Rome) with a live music stage underneath. Above it and seemingly floating in the sky is the 10,000 square meter WET Deck, the largest hotel pool area in the city, with an impressive 2,000 square meter L-shaped pool with private cabanas and unobstructed views of the neighborhood. Just a short walk from the pool is the manicured yoga lawn that leads to FIT, W Nashville’s spacious fitness center that, unlike many remote and hidden hotel gyms, is right in the middle of the action and makes fitness a social activity.
In addition to the WET Deck Bar, W Nashville has six other places to drink and eat. It starts with the Nashville-born Café Barista Parlor, with a “Coffee Courier” that delivers directly to guest rooms, and a Secret Garden for a quiet break. Behind Barista Parlor’s copper wire draped curtain hides the refined and atmospheric living room, which has subtle, respectful allusions to the music, including a ceiling of pyramid-shaped acoustic panels reminiscent of a recording studio and a two-way mirror box chandelier, who hats the show lights at the music venues on Lower Broad. The background of the Living Room Bar with its chandelier adorned with shimmering tassels is a striking, backlit mesh fabric with a reinterpretation of a classic French painting of a Tennessee forest in the French style of the 17th century. Adjacent to the bar and hidden behind a loudspeaker wall is the Sound Room, a private indoor and outdoor event space with a gold and ebony bar with warm, gold, rotating spirits.
The offer is rounded off at street level by two restaurants by Chef Andrew Carmellini: The Dutch, an all-day dining room with a relaxed American comfort menu and a bar terrace with a view of the 7-meter-high mural by Hendrix; and Carne Mare, a modern, fine-dining Italian chophouse that is only open for dinner and that draws on Carmellini’s experience in some of the best restaurants in the world.
High up on the 14th floor is Proof, W Nashville’s stunning rooftop bar, inspired by the sprawling historic Gulch train station. View the hotel’s impressive collection of original Jim Marshall prints, including an iconic painting of Jerry Garcia toasting with a glass of wine. Four sliding garage doors line the outside terraces and provide a breathtaking view.
360-degree views of the city and, when open, access to outdoor seating and a hidden catwalk at sunset. From visible ventilation slots, steel girders, a steel corner chimney and polished concrete floors to backlit, split wood paneling made from reclaimed beams from a local tobacco warehouse from the 19th century.
Meet + relax
The W Nashville has over 24,000 square feet of meeting and event space that connects to the WET Deck, Spanish Steps and its own outdoor patios to promote a balance between work and play. The tan and gold Great Room was inspired by the quilting techniques of the Nashville artisans and features a metal and glass-framed facade that lets natural light through the floor. The pre-event spaces feature intimate sitting areas with felted walls and pastoral Tennessee landscapes that adorn the alcoves that reflect a reverence for the natural beauty of Nashville.
“From live music that fills the air on the Spanish Steps to FUEL fitness classes on the WET Deck, the W Nashville is ready to add new pizzazz to this unique neighborhood,” said David Cronin, general manager, W Nashville . “The unique beat of W Hotels is finally ready to play in this southern capital and will soon become the most desirable destination for both locals and foreign guests who want to experience everything this city has to offer.”
SOURCE W Hotels worldwide
###
