Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The Buckhead Hotel Becoming A Marriott Conference Center

Apparently I'm not crazy! Shula's 347 Grill is not going into The Buckhead Hotel. As with most if not all of their other locations, they will be located within a branded property. I have now received word that the hotel will become the Atlanta Marriott Buckhead Hotel & Conference Center when it reopens later this summer. With the tremendous amount of construction going on, it became obvious to me that there had to be a more significant brand in mind. The change does make sense in a way, as Marriott already owns the land and has plenty of reason to develop the site. Though the site was at one point considered for the W Buckhead, the neighboring Firestone's unwillingness to relocate caused the deal to fall through. The Marriott has apparently found a way to work around that issue. Oh yeah, don't try calling the SIMON Marketplace at Lenox with any questions, they are clueless to all things in and outside of the mall. Repeat Atlanta!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is so grand about the Marriot that would be more deserving of Shulas then the Buckhead Hotel...?

ProShop99 said...

As I stated in the initial posting, most if not all Shula's are located within established, branded properties. I believe The Buckhead Hotel was a segway property for the hotel's owners to finalize their plans for the renovation and redevelopment.

Anonymous said...

Marriott does not actually own the property. In fact, Marriott owns very little property and will not manage this one - it's a franchise. W Buckhead was not looking at this property, more precisely they were considering the empty lot next to the Buckhead Hotel.

ProShop99 said...

To the best of my knowledge Marriott does own a fair amount of property in Buckhead. Multiple sources within the Atlanta hotel industry corroborate this. As for the W, I'm sorry if the sorry was unclear, I knew they were interested in the lot, hence the Firestone being an issue.

Anonymous said...

uh...what does simon market place have to do wit this?

ProShop99 said...

Hahaha, I was waiting for this question to come. Having been a former employee of a mall department store and current employee of a Buckhead hotel, the Marketplace is suppose to know not only info within the mall, but also lodging surrounding it as well. I have never received accurate information from either the Marketplace at Lenox or Phipps. Their entire staff lacks info in every regard and customer service, yea, not so good on that either. They had no idea one of only a handful of Tom Ford boutiques (in Neiman Marcus) nationwide were in their mall. The hotel information I requested was not challenging, simply a phone number and it was like talking to a child. Here's my thought, with the economy so bad, cant SIMON handpick who they want representing their mall? It's times like these where your first impressions (Marketplace in this case) need to be top notch, and not for any reason rub existing or potential customers the wrong way or make them feel as though you don't care about their question or concern.

Anonymous said...

It's a MALL.... Not a Chamber of Commerce. Also, who is Tom Ford and who cares how many Tom-Ford-whatevers are in Atlanta????

ProShop99 said...

The mall is the main draw to the Buckhead area and as such many hotels are located within close proximity. Its in the best interest of the mall to provide accurate and courteous information and in most cases it will lead to additional shoppers and revenue. This is a fact they allude to on their website. As for Tom Ford, he is a world renowned fashion designer credited with the turnaround of the Gucci label. His latest venture Tom Ford is a designer label carried in the likes of Barney's and Neiman's. There are few boutiques worldwide but one is right here in Atlanta within Neiman Marcus at Lenox.

Anonymous said...

RE Tom Ford rescues Gucci

I still don't care.


And, there are concierges with local info at the hotels...

Anonymous said...

Here's a thought: I would love to go to Chicago, walk into a fabulous store (like Tom Ford), and have one of the employees tell me insider tips that a concierge or a chamber of commerce wouldn't know. I'd be a happier visitor, probably drop some money with that boutique, increase their sales, help out with the recession, and come back to Chicago again.

Anonymous said...

Your "thought" didn't take too much thinking. Why even sit around dreaming up such a shallow fantasy? What is it that you are truly searching for?

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