Roughly a year and a half after W Hotels made its Las Vegas debut via a 289-room tower at the SLS Las Vegas, the stylish, design-centric brand is packing its gilded W and leaving the desert.
Last week, SLS announced that it would be reclaiming the W Hotel real estate and reintegrating it into the larger resort under the name the Grand Tower. As part of the move, SLS will discontinue its membership as a Starwood Tribute Portfolio Hotel & Resort and operate its booking independently of Starwood and parent company Marriott International.
The W opened as a hotel within a hotel in December 2016, offering guests a separate entrance, pool, cocktail lounge, spa and meetings space with a chic, desert-inspired design. The brand's tenure on the Strip was short-lived, however, as the SLS Las Vegas was sold to Alex Meruelo of the Meruelo Group in April.
Since acquiring the north Strip casino-resort, Meruelo has embarked on a $100 million reimagining of the property that will touch guestrooms, the casino floor, the pool and entertainment venues and establish the resort as an independent hotel.
Existing reservations at the W will be honored, however the SLS Las Vegas will not accept Marriott or SPG points going forward.