NEW YORK CITY — Marriott International Inc. has acquired W New York — Union Square, a 270-room hotel in Manhattan’s Union Square, for $206 million.
Marriott plans to significantly renovate the 20-story hotel to include a spa and expanded restaurant. Existing amenities include a fitness center, five meeting rooms and three restaurants.
“When W was launched as a single hotel in New York 21 years ago with ground-breaking design and a bold approach to nightlife, it pushed the boundaries of how people thought about a hotel,” says Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott International. “Given how much travelers crave these types of experiences today and the brand’s global reach, we see limitless potential for the W brand with hotel owners and developers, travelers and locals.”
The property, located at 201 Park Ave. S., adjacent to Union Square Park and two miles north of downtown New York City, first opened in 1911 as the headquarters for Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. In 2000, Rockwell Group converted the building into its current use as a W hotel.
The purchase and renovation of W New York — Union Square is part of a strategy by Marriott International to reinvigorate the W portfolio in North America. The plan also includes the recent opening of W Aspen, the brand’s first alpine destination in the United States, and the anticipated 2020 debuts of W hotels in Philadelphia and Toronto.
— Alex Tostado