letter up to all the guest rooms saying ‘by the way, there’s this thing on tonight’. The guests flocked down for it and they could hardly believe they were rubbing shoulders with glamourous people from Hong Kong’s jetset all there to check out this really scintillating Warhol exhibit. There was media everywhere, and it was a case of “Come on in, you’re welcome, this is part of your room rate”!
at any given moment, people might just have something to write home about — Matthew Jung
On another evening we planned an art talk involving one of the foremost contemporary Chinese artists who lives in Paris. She’s a really young, glamourous and extremely talented woman. Coincidentally, we knew Oliver Stone was in town and he accepted our invitation to participate. So our little art talk turned into a party of the who’s who of Hong Kong. I recall some Americans put their heads over the velvet rope saying, “What’s going on?” “It’s our talk with Oliver Stone!” They’re like, “What? You’re kidding me?” “Come on in, you’re welcome!” It was exciting. I had goosebumps. It was like, we’re living the brand right now. This is what we do: at any given moment, people might just have something to write home about. Got the Jump? There are dozens of Ws but the vast majority are in North America and are only now being seriously rolled out internationally. What’s ingenious about the W brand is how it combines the groove and funk of an edgy boutique hotel with the ‘everything laid on’ luxury of a five-star marque. In short it’s a nifty idea. But as I say, how did Starwood (a US hotel group with other big names like Westin, St. Regis, The Sheraton, Four Seasons, etc) get such a big jump on the stylish Europeans? I rather imagine that I’m not the only one asking that question. But I feel sure the other luxury marques will be loath to concede much more of the ‘funky five-star’ ground to W without a fight.
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» W Hotels: www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels
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