Starwood celebrates opening of 45th W Hotel

W Hotels Worldwide, Starwood Hotels & Resorts design-led lifestyle hotel brand, has celebrated the opening of the 45th W Hotel and its first ever-ski retreat, the W Verbier, Switzerland.

The opening of W Verbier continues the W brand’s aggressive global growth, which began 15 years ago with the debut of the David Rockwell-designed W New York, and which is set to reach 60 hotels by 2017.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide chief executive officer and president Frits van Paasschen said: “The lasting impact W Hotels has made on the hotel industry cannot be overstated. Over the past 15 years, W has turned the staid hospitality landscape on its head and demonstrated that a hotel is more than a place to check in and checkout as it continues to reinvent the category it created with each new hotel opening around the world.”

According to W Hotels Worldwide, the W Verbier is set to offer guests the “spirit of Ibiza set on ice”, with the hotel located at the base of a mountain in the Medran area of Verbier, part of a multi-component luxury development project owned by Les Trois Rocs.

W Verbier offers 123 rooms situated in four adjacent chalets on the Place Blanche, conveniently located next to the main gondola offering immediate access to the resort’s ski slopes.

The hotel also offers The Residences at W Verbier, 15 W-branded, full-service residences located right next to the hotel.

Facilities at the hotel include the W Cafe, W Living Room, Away Spa and FIT (W’s take on the traditional fitness centre) as well as an indoor/outdoor WET pool deck. The signature restaurant, Arola, is in collaboration with two-Michelin Star Chef Sergi Arola, known for his modern, urban Spanish ‘pica pica’ cuisine.