W Atlanta Buckhead (Georgia) - Master Thread

This is one of three W hotels in the Atlanta area, the others being downtown and midtown. This one is located in the upscale Buckhead area of Atlanta, on the opposite side of the city from the airport. It is located at the Buckhead MARTA (subway from airport and downtown) station and almost next door to the Westin Buckhead. The hotel is built "sideways" perpendicular to the street, so that to enter you must walk or drive along a driveway to arrive at the front entrance, which does not face the street. I'm not sure whether I'd like to walk from the street to the door very late at night, but the hotel seems lively so there should be people around, including valet parkers.

The hotel's decor has a southern, even tropical, feel with light colors (very unlike other Ws).The lobby is pretty and distinctive, although I would not characterize it as particularly feminine as some have complained. It has the obligatory Living Room bar and a very popular restaurant. The small rooftop pool is also interesting.

Normal rooms appear small with tiny bathrooms (small shower stall only, no bathtub) and even narrow doors. They're attractively decorated, again in light colors.

Prices are frequently the same as for the Westin Buckhead. They're very different hotels and I'm not sure that one dominates, although the lounge in the Westin is a big advantage for SPG Plats.

 

Personally, as a W lover, this property is way to "feminine" for me. The design scheme is not eclectic as much as it is frilly/girly. The bathroom thing really bothered me along with the property not having many suites.







The rooms are very tiny and the exposed bathroom was not appealing at all.

I would stay at the Westin Bucked or St. Regis before returning here.

 

Absolutely 100% agree. Disappointed. No wonder this property is often on StarPicks.

 

I've noticed that as well. Atlanta is over saturated with hotels for a city it's size which is now shrinking (and don't get me started on the job market and foreclosure situation).

All those W's are competing for the same customer. We win with options and possibly price but lose on brand "experience".

 

plus their bar/lounge is complete anal carnage on prices. $9 for a bottle of sweetwater? you kidding me, brah?

 

I totally forgot about that! I'm like this is the South drinks should not be that expensive. The one saving grace at this property is the staff does deliver a good and consistent level of service.

 

FWIW, the lounge is pretty nice, but you're exactly right: this is the south... not a Vegas nightclub/lounge. some guy ordered a $60 shot of some kind of tequila when i was getting my check from the one drink i had. i just laughed and went down the street

 

oh, and for anyone interested, the Westin Buckhead is having some more decent weekend rates this summer. $119 I think? not as good as last year's $99 or 109 with lounge access but still decent for that property.

 

IME whenever I've checked, the rates for the W Buckhead and the Westin Buckhead have been awfully close, if not identical. Hence, the choice is basically W ambiance versus a very good lounge at the Westin (if you're Plat). The odds of a suite upgrade aren't wonderful in either property as the number of select standard suites is pretty limited in both.

 

At least the Westin has large corner rooms though. Those rooms are pretty big and much larger than the rooms at the W. The lounge is the winning factor.

 

Yes indeed. I had a wonderful corner room on the club lounge floor with a nice sitting area and a huge bathroom with separate big bathtub and IIRC rain shower. It was fun and would have been classified as a junior suite at many properties.

 

i forgot to mention that the Westin rate I mentioned was another travelzoo offer. the lounge was open most weekends during the summer, as well

 

I was not impressed with the W Buckhead: SPG.com said suites were for sale. Check-in person said no and put me in the smallest room near the elevator, even after asking him if he was telling the truth and telling him I'd be right back down if the rooms sucked. So a quick call to my Ambassador gets the situation resolved. Same Check-in person sheepishly gave me keys for the new room. I told the story to a fellow FT'er who was checking in and he told the guy he had a choice of going thru the same back-and-forth as I did or simply give him a suite. A suite was quickly secured. Why does SPG allow some properties to do this?

 

If this the type of example I was elating to, in another thread about spg listing how many rooms/suites a property has.

When you looked online were there "suites for sale" or "select standard suites for sale"?? How can you tell online?? Did the check in person say there were "no suites available" or "no select standard suites available"? This property only has a few suites and out of those, IIRC only 3 are select standard suites.

I'm always on the fence on these types of situations. IMHO, just because a property has suites, above select standard, showing, a platinum should not be entitled to it and at the same time a property should want to please its top tier customers and offer a suite, above select standard, if it's available, even if they have to move the platinum for a portion of their stay. The diplomat does a good job of this.

However, when people start calling and complaining they didn't get a suite and their ambassador calls, to me the member is taking advantage of the situation and the hotel probably assigns them a suite, above select standard, that Platinum members aren't entitled to, just to shut them up.

 

This post is spot-on. The property has nothing whatever to recommend it.

 

When in Buckhead, my choice is the St. Regis loved my stays there

 

Just checked in to the W Atlanta (Buckhead). Walked in to the desk (behind a gentleman who apparently was booked at the Westin and came to the W in error). Upon my turn (< 30 seconds) I walked up, gave my name and the desk agent: found the reservation, greeted me, noted my platinum status, asked about points vs. amenity, found an upgraded room (Fabulous to Wonderful), proactively asked about MAGC, printed me a key and directed me to the elevators. All in less than 5 minutes. I didn't have to request anything: upgrade, MAGC, etc. - she was on top of every bit of it.

Given that this is my 25th stay this year (and will represent nights 40 and 41), it was a nice experience.

I'll be at 49 nights by the end of the month, too... but that's for another thread.

 

What is MAGC?

 

Make a Green Choice. 500 points per night (except your last night) for declining housekeeping. You can still call down / request supplies at the desk... just no full cleaning of the room, change of sheets/towels, etc.

 

Did you visit the rooftop bar while you were there? Some nice views of the city

 

Yes, but the outdoor lounges were inaccessible due to the rain. I'm hoping tomorrow night is better. The range of bottles behind the bar is impressive.

 

Market restaurant at W ATL Buckhead will close and be replaced by new concept.

 

It appears the new concept will be a pub. Wonder how many W's have a pub?

 

That restaurant was always empty and seeing as ATL isn't really a "foodie" city, I think it didn't fit in with that W. Just as Spice Market doesn't fit in with the W Midtown.

 

Atlanta isn't a foodie city? Someone's missing a large part of Atlanta's epicurean culture, especially given the resurgence in modernized southern food (folks like Marcus Samuelson's new digs in Harlem, etc.).