Cherry Creek JW Marriott design unveiled

[Guest donaltopablo]

Great news for Denver, all I need to do now is to find a rendering.

Cherry Creek Marriott design unveiled

Sunstone Hotel Investors LLC of San Clemente, Calif., today unveiled the design of the $40 million JW Marriott hotel it's building in Denver's upscale Cherry Creek neighborhood.

The 11-story, 196-room luxury property currently is under construction at 150 Clayton Lane and scheduled to open in the spring of 2004. Called the JW Marriott Denver at Cherry Creek, the hotel will employ roughly 200 people.

"We chose Cherry Creek and Denver because we believe the city and the neighborhood deserve and can support a luxury hotel such as a JW Marriott," Robert Alter, Sunstone's CEO, said in a statement. "It's also something of a homecoming for me, as I started my hotel career in Colorado with Mountain Resorts Inc. and Colorado Hotel Management."

The hotel's extra-large rooms will include four one-bedroom suites, two concierge-level floors and a penthouse presidential suite. All rooms will have Internet access, flat-screen TVs, portable phones and movable desks with ergonomic chairs.

Bathrooms will feature glass-enclosed showers, separate tubs and granite-top vanities.

Among the hotel's amenities will be a 100-seat restaurant and bar, fitness center, outdoor courtyard, whirlpools and hot tubs. For business meetings and other groups, there will be three meeting rooms and a ballroom that can accommodate 300 people.

The hotel was designed by Denver-based David Owen Tryba Architects and the interior architect is Design Force Corp., also of Denver. M.A. Mortenson Co. is the general contractor.

The Cherry Creek JW Marriott belongs to the nine-acre Clayton Lane project being built by local developer Randy Nichols of the Nichols Partnership. The project also includes mutual fund manager Janus Funds' new world headquarters, a two-story Crate & Barrel home-goods store, John Atencio Jewelers, condominiums and covered parking.

Started by Robert Alter in 1976, Sunstone became a publicly traded real estate investment trust in 1995. Alter and Westbrook Partners then bought all outstanding stock in 1999, taking the company private again.

Sunstone currently owns and operates 77 North American hotels with more than 16,000 rooms. In Colorado, the company has properties in Silverthorne, Craig and Pueblo as well as the new JW Marriott in Denver.

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts is a brand of Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott International Inc. (NYSE: MAR), which operates or franchises more than 2,500 hotels worldwide. Marriott International's other brands include Courtyard by Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance hotels.

[Shoowaa]

As much as I hate to admit it-its a basic box design:

It was origanally suppost to have a nice crowned top but sadly I think they decided to cut costs.

Albert (Shoowaa)

[Guest donaltopablo]

Yeah, I saw these renderings and am a little disappointed. That design would have been fine for a normal Marriott. But it's very disappointing for a JW Marriott IMHO. They are suppose to be a class above, and this design just does not portray that well.

[Sean Reynolds]

Looks a lot like the Marriott in downtown Salt Lake City, though a bit different.

Too bad this isn't going up in Denver's downtown, instead yet another tower outside their CBD.

[Allan]

It's too bad they couldn't do anything more than a box. A luxury hotel should have some more architectural interest than a regular hotel. It's all about money though. Oh well, still good news for Denver .