A well placed source tells ToNeTo Atanta that the upcoming 1,000 room hotel planned for a portion of the former Georiga Dome site downtown will be flagged by JW Marriott. The hotel, likely to be called the JW Marriott Atlanta Downtown, would be the second property in Atlanta to carry the JW name, the first being adjacent to Lenox Square in Buckhead.
The hotel would be situated on the northern portion of the Georgia Dome site, adjacent to the upcoming Home Depot Backyard, a multi-purpose community park/grassy parking area meant to serve guests of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and be an amenity to the neighboring Westside neighborhood. The hotel will also connect to the southern end of the Georgia World Congress Center, near Northside Drive.
If the hotel proceeds as planned, it would be the sixth largest hotel in Atlanta, behind Omni Atlanta Hotel with 1,038 rooms but ahead of Sheraton Atlanta Hotel with 749 rooms.
JW Marriott is a luxury hotel chain that, like 28 other hotel brands, is owned by Marriott International. The hotel is named after John Willard Marriott, the founder of Marriott Corporation. There are currently about 80 JW Marriott properties around the world, 25 of which are in the United States.
Atlanta's current JW Marriott, in Buckhead, opened in 1988 and is connected to Lenox Square. The hotel features 371 rooms, and like the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead, the Westin Buckhead Atlanta and The Whitley, (formerly The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead), is owned by Host Hotels & Resorts.
JW Marriott is no stranger to large hotels in high profile locations. An 878 room JW Marriott and connected 123 room Ritz-Carlton operate at LA LIVE in Los Angeles, adjacent to the Los Angeles Convention Center, Staples Center, Microsoft Theater and other attractions.
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| The joint JW Marriott / The Ritz-Carlton hotels at LA LIVE |
The board of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority—which oversees the Georgia Dome site—voted last year to approve an agreement with Boston-based developer Drew Co. to develop the $400 million hotel. The hotel would be owned by the state-run authority, but managed by a private , third-party company. The earliest the hotel construction is expected to begin is after Atlanta hosts Super Bowl LIII on Sunday February 3, 2019.
Are you excited for the addition of a second JW Marriott hotel to metro Atlanta? Do you think JW Marriott is the right brand to be at this high profile development? What is your favorite upscale/luxury hotel brand?
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