Embassy Suites OKC NW

[pure]

oh my mistake, it's always by habit that I put in my employee corporate code, didn't even realize.

[Jeepnokc]

I stay at a lot of Marriotts due to the great rates they provide employee's immediate family great rates and the beds at the higher end Marriott brands are great but they aren't the same beds and pillows at Springhill Suites. I have never had bad service at either. I was at the Marriott Park Lane in London in November and got food poisoning on plane (actually I think it was the Varsity in Atlanta) which with weakened immune system turned into nasty chest cold so ended up sick in hotel for the entire five days and was very comfortable and well taken care of by the staff who offered to actually go to the pharmacy for me hen I inquired as to the closet location.

[bradh]

Some good points on here about the change in what folks look for in hotels. You look at OKC, and what's going on with the growth, it just happens to be during a paradigm shift in what we look for in a hotel, so I think lack of new "full service" hotels has less to do with OKC being able to support a number on an Excel sheet, but as said, more to do with what people want. The places you think of that have more full service hotels, those entities have probably been around a long time.

[bchris02]

Some good points on here about the change in what folks look for in hotels. You look at OKC, and what's going on with the growth, it just happens to be during a paradigm shift in what we look for in a hotel, so I think lack of new "full service" hotels has less to do with OKC being able to support a number on an Excel sheet, but as said, more to do with what people want. The places you think of that have more full service hotels, those entities have probably been around a long time.

It has more to do with the fact OKC has never been a major tourism or convention city as well. OKC will get more full service hotels if the convention center gets built and does the business that it is projected to do.

[bchris02]

Any updates on this? Anybody know who the new flag is going to be?

[MWCGuy]

I think it will likely stay Tower Hotel for sometime. The new marquee at the entry drive on Northwest Expressway has a permanent sign up with The Tower Hotel on it. It's likely still in receivership until someone else buys it. I don't see that happening anytime soon because you can probably build a new hotel for the price it will cost to buy it and upgrade it. I think we will more likely see it renovated into Apartments before another hotel chain buys it.

[bchris02]

I think it will likely stay Tower Hotel for sometime. The new marquee at the entry drive on Northwest Expressway has a permanent sign up with The Tower Hotel on it. It's likely still in receivership until someone else buys it. I don't see that happening anytime soon because you can probably build a new hotel for the price it will cost to buy it and upgrade it. I think we will more likely see it renovated into Apartments before another hotel chain buys it.

That is definitely unfortunate.

[SoonerDave]

Bit more insight on this - my mom has some friends that come in to OKC to visit each year around Christmas, and they opted to stay at that Marriott (while it was still a Marriott), and even they had noticed the place had really gone down the tubes...obvious items in disrepair, not maintained, things in the room broken, not even basic cleaning had been done. They were really stunned. My mom hosted my wedding rehearsal dinner there almost 20 years ago, and it was a fabulous place then, but even she agreed after having met her friends there that the place was really a mess. Not just a few odds and ends, but an obvious, fundamental failing of the overall facility.

What a horrendous waste. I can't imagine any corporate hotel entity with any regard for its name wanting to put its flag on a facility where the owners don't care and seem willing to run the place into the ground.

Sounds like a bad Hotel Impossible episode waiting to happen.

[tomokc]

The former owners lost the hotel to the bank. Marriott likely pulled there flag. I have coworker who used to work for the Waterford. The staff that ran the OKC Marriott into the ground is now at the Waterford and yes the Waterford is going downhill fast so you can expect the Waterford to lose it's flag at some point.

MWC - Can you clarify a couple of things for me? Is the owner and/or operator of both hotels (The Tower and the Waterford Marriott) the same entity? If the same entity for both properties, how did they lose The Tower but not the Waterford Marriott to the lender?

[pure]

Waterford Marriott is owned by the Procaccianti Group out of Rhode Island, they bought the Waterford from Host Hotel Group many years ago. TPG Hospitality - A Procaccianti Group Company
source: Waterford Marriott sold in package | News OK

[ljbab728]

I think it will likely stay Tower Hotel for sometime. The new marquee at the entry drive on Northwest Expressway has a permanent sign up with The Tower Hotel on it. It's likely still in receivership until someone else buys it. I don't see that happening anytime soon because you can probably build a new hotel for the price it will cost to buy it and upgrade it. I think we will more likely see it renovated into Apartments before another hotel chain buys it.

I hadn't seen anything posted previously about the hotel being in "receivership". I've only seen that it lost it's Marriott affiliation. What new information do you have about that?

[MWCGuy]

MWC - Can you clarify a couple of things for me? Is the owner and/or operator of both hotels (The Tower and the Waterford Marriott) the same entity? If the same entity for both properties, how did they lose The Tower but not the Waterford Marriott to the lender?

No, the hotels are not under the same ownership but, they have shared a informal partnership for many years. When one fills up they refer guests to the other until recently when the Marriott name was lost by OKC Marriott. Rumor has it TPG has the hotel up for sale. According to my source they have lost their management team to competing hotels and other companies. From what I understand the General Manager left because he went to corporate in Rhode Island and fought for upgrades. He noted the many hotels opening and planned to be built in OKC that would take customers away from Waterford. They refused to listen to his proposal to upgrade and explained if he just provided the best service the customers would keep coming. Shortly after taking that trip he left and took a GM post with one of the Downtown Hotels.

I hadn't seen anything posted previously about the hotel being in "receivership". I've only seen that it lost its Marriott affiliation. What new information do you have about that?

My source worked at the Waterford until just recently. They took many of OKC Marriott's employees. The employees left OKC Marriott because they didn't know if they were going to be paid from one week to the next due to the fact the hotel was foreclosed on and placed in receivership. Marriott apparently came through for an inspection (as they do most of their hotels) they were not happy with the conditions to say the least therefore the flag was pulled. They maybe owned by someone now but, last my source heard they were still in receivership until the bank finds a new owner.

[tomokc]

The employees left OKC Marriott because they didn't know if they were going to be paid from one week to the next due to the fact the hotel was foreclosed on and placed in receivership. Marriott apparently came through for an inspection (as they do most of their hotels) they were not happy with the conditions to say the least therefore the flag was pulled. They maybe owned by someone now but, last my source heard they were still in receivership until the bank finds a new owner.

I've neither heard nor read anything about this hotel going into receivership. Can you post a link or more specific information? Thanks.

[benjenn]

The company I work for has had a large meeting (two days, 300+ attendees) and banquet (550-600) at the OKC Marriott for the last 20+ years but last year our meeting was right after all these changes took place. No one we had worked with for years was still there. We had so many complaints from our attendees that we moved our meeting for this year. Never once did anyone from the hotel call me to ask about us book for 2014. It was just very sad.

[ljbab728]

My source worked at the Waterford until just recently. They took many of OKC Marriott's employees. The employees left OKC Marriott because they didn't know if they were going to be paid from one week to the next due to the fact the hotel was foreclosed on and placed in receivership. Marriott apparently came through for an inspection (as they do most of their hotels) they were not happy with the conditions to say the least therefore the flag was pulled. They maybe owned by someone now but, last my source heard they were still in receivership until the bank finds a new owner.

If that is the case, there should be court records from somewhere to back that up.

[Celebrator]

Had a meeting with someone in their sales department today who was fairly confident they would have a new owner and flag/brand to announce by the end of the first quarter and MAJOR renovations would start during the second quarter. I hope that pans out.

[anthonyokc]

Wasn't this a John Q. Hammonds property or did that change recently too?

[Urbanized]

No. Never a JQH property to my knowledge.

[bchris02]

Any updates on this?

[MWCGuy]

Any updates on this?

I haven't heard anything new. It will really surprise me if any major brand other than (Best Western or Radisson) picks it up. It's cheaper to build a new hotel instead of investing into someone else's aging monster. I predict it will probably go apartment or extended stay route.

[Snowman]

I haven't heard anything new. It will really surprise me if any major brand other than (Best Western or Radisson) picks it up. It's cheaper to build a new hotel instead of investing into someone else's aging monster. I predict it will probably go apartment or extended stay route.

I was there a couple weeks ago at an event in their ballroom, a little surprising they do not seem to be doing anything on signage (even something just temporary). Maybe they are looking at options of using one of these or another brand but it looks bad how it is. If it was temporary I understand not wanting to spend a lot, but either painting a name or adding a wrap like they do downtown for the playoffs would be a major improvement on the vibe the building was giving.

[bchris02]

I agree. The entire thing is an eyesore as it is now. If they aren't going to get a new flag soon, they should simply take down the Marriott signage rather than trying to cover it up.

[bchris02]

They have an awful website showcasing the old pre-Devon OKC skyline but not the hotel itself.

Tower Hotel Oklahoma City | TowerHotel Oklahoma City

[Celebrator]

I am going to have lunch (as part of a group) tomorrow with the GM, I will see if I can get any updates. I understand they have invested more than a million dollars recently in improvement out of sight to guests...mostly plumbing. Speaking with a salesperson in Feb., as I posted above, they expected to be able to announce a new flag in April. I will see what I can get tomorrow.

[MWCGuy]

I agree. The entire thing is an eyesore as it is now. If they aren't going to get a new flag soon, they should simply take down the Marriott signage rather than trying to cover it up.

Removing the signage is not going to be cheap. They usually bring in a crane and there is really no place to put a crane to remove the sign. They will likely have to scale the side of the building to remove the letters one by one and lower them by crane on the back side of the hotel. I am willing to bet it will cost tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete.