W Hoboken Hotel
W Hoboken
225 River Street
Hoboken, New Jersey
The W's 2nd floor pre-function area.
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The W Hoboken Hotel & Residences opened in the spring of 2009. The 26 story condo-hotel has 225 hotel rooms and 40 condominium residences. The $150 million hotel sits on the Hudson riverfront in Hoboken, New Jersey - named after the Old Dutch word Hoebuck, meaning high bluff) - facing mid-town Manhattan. This type of condo-hotel property is generally found in splashy cities such as Miami or Hong Kong. It took Hoboken talent, the Applied Development Company based in Hoboken, to find the wherewithal to develop such an ambitious and hip hotel for Hoboken.
Applied Development Company has extensive ownership and management experience in Hoboken’s apartment market, having built many residential and mix use projects. The principals of Applied Development Company (other legal entities are 225 River Street LLC and Ironstate Development Co.) are David and Michael Barry. Their father Walter and older brother Joseph started Applied Development in 1970 and helped develop Hoboken's gritty riverside into a desired residential area teeming with restaurants, shops and young professionals. Walter has passed the business to two younger sons, David and Michael. In 2004 Joseph Barry was sentenced to two years in federal prison for making kickbacks to county executives.
Applied recently completed the Pier Village, a mix use project in Long Branch, NJ which includes a boutique 40-room hotel - The Bungalow. The Bungalow is a very hip, yet luxury hotel which town planners say revitalized the Jersey Shore town of Long Branch. Also, the Barry brothers are in the early development stage for a W Hotel in Marrakech, Morocco.
The architect was Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects - a NYC firm which also designed the W New York - Downtown Hotel and Residential Condominiums located next to the World Trade Center Memorial Site and The Setai Fifth Avenue in NYC, a 57-story hotel and residential tower containing 157 hotel rooms, 57 hotel apartments.
The W Hoboken was designed with a wedge-shaped tower - this to maximize the number of hotel rooms that would have Manhattan/Hudson River views. The 225 hotel rooms are located in the 14-story mid-section of the tower with the upper 9 floors containing the 40 condominium residences.
It was reported that the 40 condos were sold out quickly and at record prices for Hoboken. According to realdeal.com the average condo price in the building was $1,075 per square foot or upwards of $2 million for a 1,900 sq. ft. two-bedroom.
There were early opponents to the construction of the hotel. In 2004 the Hoboken City Council approved the hotel's construction by a narrow vote of 5-4. Many felt the 26-story glass tower did not fit into the fabric of what Hoboken's waterfront looks like. The W Hoboken, a metal and glass building, contrasts sharply with the existing mid-rise, masonry buildings on the river front.
Barry Sternlicht, the founder of Starwood Hotels, is credited with the creation of W Hotels. Following Starwood’s acquisition of Westin Hotels in 1994 he determined there was a need for a "smaller but urban" Westin Brand - therefore the name W Hotel. Starwood's first W Hotel opened in 1998 with the W New York, a multi-million dollar conversion of the Doral Inn hotel at 541 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan.
As stated in the hotel's opening press release - "the W Hoboken provides a contemporary cool environment for both international jetsetters and local loyalists".
The first two floors of the building houses The Chandelier Room lounge and Zylo Steakhouse, W's Living Room with 40 foot ceilings, a Bliss spa, fitness facility, a wood-paneled multi-purpose ballroom, and multiple conference rooms.
The hotel's all-day dining room is Zylo. The restaurant is operated by Cornerstone Restaurant Group (operators of Michael Jordan-brand restaurants). The opening chef was Troy Unruh. In May 2011 Seadon Shouse was appointed Executive Chef. Shouse previously was the Sous Chef with Morgan’s Hotel Group at the Hudson Hotel.
The hotel's 2nd floor indoor/outdoor cocktail lounge is the Chandelier Room. W Hoboken owners Michael and David Barry contracted with the EMM Group’s Eugene Remm, Mark Birnbaum and Michael Hirtenstein to conceptualize and operate the destination, high-energy bar. EMM is well-known for the success of their Manhattan club - Tenjune.
Anna MacDiarmid is the general manager for the W Hotel in Hoboken. She is quoted saying the focus of the hotel is on personalized service and “whatever a guest wants whenever they want it as long as it is legal.”
W Hoboken appointed Katie Donald to Director of Sales and Marketing in January 2012. She previously served as the Director of Sales and Marketing for Starwood at The Westin Auckland in her native New Zealand.
All photos and text by Dick Johnson
January 2011
richardlloydjohnson@hotmail.com
212-832-0098
W Hoboken Hotel
W Hoboken
225 River Street
Hoboken, New Jersey
The W's 2nd floor pre-function area.
-----------------------
The W Hoboken Hotel & Residences opened in the spring of 2009. The 26 story condo-hotel has 225 hotel rooms and 40 condominium residences. The $150 million hotel sits on the Hudson riverfront in Hoboken, New Jersey - named after the Old Dutch word Hoebuck, meaning high bluff) - facing mid-town Manhattan. This type of condo-hotel property is generally found in splashy cities such as Miami or Hong Kong. It took Hoboken talent, the Applied Development Company based in Hoboken, to find the wherewithal to develop such an ambitious and hip hotel for Hoboken.
Applied Development Company has extensive ownership and management experience in Hoboken’s apartment market, having built many residential and mix use projects. The principals of Applied Development Company (other legal entities are 225 River Street LLC and Ironstate Development Co.) are David and Michael Barry. Their father Walter and older brother Joseph started Applied Development in 1970 and helped develop Hoboken's gritty riverside into a desired residential area teeming with restaurants, shops and young professionals. Walter has passed the business to two younger sons, David and Michael. In 2004 Joseph Barry was sentenced to two years in federal prison for making kickbacks to county executives.
Applied recently completed the Pier Village, a mix use project in Long Branch, NJ which includes a boutique 40-room hotel - The Bungalow. The Bungalow is a very hip, yet luxury hotel which town planners say revitalized the Jersey Shore town of Long Branch. Also, the Barry brothers are in the early development stage for a W Hotel in Marrakech, Morocco.
The architect was Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects - a NYC firm which also designed the W New York - Downtown Hotel and Residential Condominiums located next to the World Trade Center Memorial Site and The Setai Fifth Avenue in NYC, a 57-story hotel and residential tower containing 157 hotel rooms, 57 hotel apartments.
The W Hoboken was designed with a wedge-shaped tower - this to maximize the number of hotel rooms that would have Manhattan/Hudson River views. The 225 hotel rooms are located in the 14-story mid-section of the tower with the upper 9 floors containing the 40 condominium residences.
It was reported that the 40 condos were sold out quickly and at record prices for Hoboken. According to realdeal.com the average condo price in the building was $1,075 per square foot or upwards of $2 million for a 1,900 sq. ft. two-bedroom.
There were early opponents to the construction of the hotel. In 2004 the Hoboken City Council approved the hotel's construction by a narrow vote of 5-4. Many felt the 26-story glass tower did not fit into the fabric of what Hoboken's waterfront looks like. The W Hoboken, a metal and glass building, contrasts sharply with the existing mid-rise, masonry buildings on the river front.
Barry Sternlicht, the founder of Starwood Hotels, is credited with the creation of W Hotels. Following Starwood’s acquisition of Westin Hotels in 1994 he determined there was a need for a "smaller but urban" Westin Brand - therefore the name W Hotel. Starwood's first W Hotel opened in 1998 with the W New York, a multi-million dollar conversion of the Doral Inn hotel at 541 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan.
As stated in the hotel's opening press release - "the W Hoboken provides a contemporary cool environment for both international jetsetters and local loyalists".
The first two floors of the building houses The Chandelier Room lounge and Zylo Steakhouse, W's Living Room with 40 foot ceilings, a Bliss spa, fitness facility, a wood-paneled multi-purpose ballroom, and multiple conference rooms.
The hotel's all-day dining room is Zylo. The restaurant is operated by Cornerstone Restaurant Group (operators of Michael Jordan-brand restaurants). The opening chef was Troy Unruh. In May 2011 Seadon Shouse was appointed Executive Chef. Shouse previously was the Sous Chef with Morgan’s Hotel Group at the Hudson Hotel.
The hotel's 2nd floor indoor/outdoor cocktail lounge is the Chandelier Room. W Hoboken owners Michael and David Barry contracted with the EMM Group’s Eugene Remm, Mark Birnbaum and Michael Hirtenstein to conceptualize and operate the destination, high-energy bar. EMM is well-known for the success of their Manhattan club - Tenjune.
Anna MacDiarmid is the general manager for the W Hotel in Hoboken. She is quoted saying the focus of the hotel is on personalized service and “whatever a guest wants whenever they want it as long as it is legal.”
W Hoboken appointed Katie Donald to Director of Sales and Marketing in January 2012. She previously served as the Director of Sales and Marketing for Starwood at The Westin Auckland in her native New Zealand.
All photos and text by Dick Johnson
January 2011
richardlloydjohnson@hotmail.com
212-832-0098