W Atlanta - Midtown: Atlanta's Stylish Midtown Four-Diamond Hotel

The W Atlanta - Midtown hotel, a trendy, luxury hotel aimed at young professionals, is located in the Midtown area of Atlanta. Nearby attractions include the High Museum of Art, the Alliance Theatre, Atlantic Station and the Fox Theatre. The hotel, which opened in the spring of 2008, is AAA Four Diamond rated. The hotel is easily reached from the Interstate 75/85 Downtown Connector. MARTA, Atlanta's public transit system, has a train station about two blocks away, and bus lines serve the area.

The 27-story, 467-room W Atlanta - Midtown has several grades of guest room ranging from 385 square feet for the Wonderful Room to 1,600 square feet for the hotel's one Extreme WOW Suite. All rooms come with Bliss Spa bath amenities; high-speed Internet access; the W Signature bed, luxury linens, and the W Pillow Menu; a DVD/CD player and bathrobes. Suites come with separate parlors, larger televisions, more spacious bathrooms and upgraded amenities.

The W Atlanta - Midtown's other features include the indulgent Bliss Spa, the WIRED Business Center and the SWEAT Fitness Center. The 4,000-square-foot Bliss Spa offers a full menu of treatments, including facials, peels and microdermabrasion; massages, including the 135-minute ginger rub; body treatments; waxing and manicures and pedicures. The 1,500-square-foot SWEAT Fitness Center provides cardiovascular machines, free weights and weight machines. The outdoor pool has cabanas for rent. The WIRED Business Center provides guests with complete office equipment, including laptops, but is only open during business hours.

Dining options at the W Atlanta - Midtown include the comfortable Living Room, with books and board games, as well as cocktails and snacks, and the W Cafy, with coffee and light fare, including breakfast. The hotel's signature bar, Whiskey Park, is a concept from Rande Gerber (aka Cindy Crawford's husband). Atlanta magazine says, "It has lived up to its billing as an intimate lounge with an edge. ... Mirrored walls and velvety sofas evoke a nostalgia intensified by beats from the ... DJ booth.'' The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says that Whiskey Park "captures Atlanta's unique vibe.'' The hotel's signature restaurant is Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Spice Market, a twin to his Lower Manhattan venue, which serves Southeast Asian "street food.''

The W has 30,000 square feet of meeting space in its Midtown location, and offers catering, the latest audio/visual technology and W's special Sensory Set Up and Wish Workshop packages, designed to give meetings an unusual flair. The largest single space is 9,555 square feet; it accommodates 800 guests banquet-style or 1500 reception-style. A total of 14 spaces are available, including a boardroom and several meeting and conference rooms in varying sizes.

Internet reviews of the W Atlanta - Midtown are mostly positive, with about two-thirds of reviewers rating the hotel either "Excellent'' or "Very Good'' on a popular travel website. One recent guest calls the lobby "one big party,'' and says that this W "had the best scene'' of any in Atlanta. Another person applauds the service, saying, "I was treated like royalty.'' However, the crowd trends young. A business traveler noted, "I am 43 and this place felt waaayyyyy too young for me.'' The consensus seems to be that the dycor is fabulous if you like the retro, techno-glam `80s look, service is by and large good and the amenities are very nice. But, if you are not comfortable with a young, loud partying crowd in the public spaces, you would be better off somewhere else.