JW Marriott Offers Classroom Lessons

Although hundreds of boxes fill its lobby, the first JW Marriott in Colorado will open June 1. An official grand opening will be held on June 8 in an invitation-only event attended by Bill Marriott. Denver-based David Tryba is the architect and M.A. Mortenson is the general contractor.

The hotel will set a new standard for local hotels, Sunstone Hotel Investors chief executive officer Robert Alter says before teaching an MBA class at the University of Denver's school of hotel, restaurant and tourism management. "I'm going to use the process of developing this hotel as a case study," in the class, he tells GlobeSt.com.

Alter says the JW Marriott, with introductory rates of $159 on weekends and $189 per night, is far less than what a Ritz Carlton would charge, but basically with the same features and level of service. "About the only difference is the size of the rooms--Ritz Carlton rooms are a little larger," he tells GlobeSt.com, while sitting in a third-floor, furnished room, during a tour of the hotel. His company owns and manages 63 hotels across the country.

Kathy Head, president of the Cherry North Neighborhood Association, says she's thrilled the JW Marriott is about to open. She says when her organization was negotiating with the City of Denver and developer Randy Nichols, who is in charge of the development of the whole Sears parking lots where the JW Marriott is going, there were concerns the hotel wouldn't be financially feasible.

The site also includes the new headquarters for Janus. Indeed, Janus' building is connected to the hotel with a pedestrian bridge. The site also will have a Crate & Barrel, high-end condominiums, and many new restaurants and retailers.

"There are always concerns about traffic and noise, but a hotel has different traffic patterns than offices or retail," which should help to mitigate that, she tells GlobeSt.com.