W Brisbane exterior. Rendering courtesy of W Hotels.
Nearly 10 years after Starwood’s trendy, upscale W chain exited Australia, the chain has announced that it’s making a comeback.
That’s news enough to justify a blog post for Travel Update readers. But I took the liberty of asking Twitter friends for photos, so I’m thrilled to be share some of my favorites in this post, too!
Photo of Brisbane’s giant observation wheel by Javan Ng
@javanng.
The W Brisbane is underway in Australia’s capital city. It’s set to open in 2018, according to Starwood. The 305- room hotel will be housed in a new tower (see rendering above).
Starwood, by the way, apparently picked the hippest city in Australia, as determined by a regional publication. Brisbane has just been named the “Cool Capital” by Australian Traveller, thanks to its mix of restaurants, wine bars, cocktail lounges, art, culture, shopping and inviting weather.
Spectacular photo of Brisbane by night by Javan Ng @javanng.
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A photo of Brisbane taken from the boardwalk at the South Bank by techie-foodie-blogger Javan Ng
@javanng.
Do you remember the W that used to be in Australia? It was the W Sydney, which left the chain’s system in 2005 due to a “mutual decision” between Starwood and the owners to discontinue the partnership, according to Trey Sarten, a Starwood spokesman.
Readers: Does anyone remember what I wrote, or do you only remember the photos by Javan Ng? OK. Please don’t answer 🙂
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