Houston’s Getting a New Cooler Than Thou Downtown Hotel

A Texas-shaped lazy river quickly grew into a tourist siren — it practically seems like staying at the Marriott Marquis and not Instagramming a shot of that pool is against the law. And now, downtown Houston could be getting even more hotel trendy.

Plans are moving forward for a new W Hotel in the convention district, a short walk from the scene shifting Marriott Marquis. Known for their cooler than thou vibe, W Hotels were a big deal (and nearly revolutionary) when the first W Hotel in New York City opened to much fanfare in 1998.

Now, as more and more hotels embrace the hip surrounds and nightlife emphasis that W Hotels are based around, the brand no longer carries quite the same mystique. But Houston finally getting its first W Hotel still says something about the city’s dramatic recent hotel transformation.

Dallas and Austin have both had W Hotels for years and years. Now, however belatedly, Houston is in the hip crowd.

Plans call for Houston’s W Hotel to be built atop Houston First’s 10-story office tower at 701 Avenida de las Americas.

The 308-room hotel is a $120 million project that aims to create a new destination spot downtown. Expect restaurants and a nightlife component in the hotel.

The board of Houston First Corporation voted 8-2 in favor of going forward with the final negotiations with the Texas Hospitality Partners, the development group behind the project. The final hurdle will be a Houston City Council vote on the project, which includes projected state and local tax rebates totaling near $43 million.

Texas Hospitality Partners will privately finance the actual $120 million project costs. The developers say that the new W Hotel will create a minimum of 275 permanent jobs worth more than $14 million annually and 745 construction jobs.

Of course, many of the people staying at Houston’s new W Hotel will just want to know how Instagrammable the scene is.

One thing’s certain — the bar’s been set. It has to beat a certain Texas-shaped pool.

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