The Dirt:
Long a second tier city, Atlanta is growing and is now home to a great art scene and thanks to Starwood Hotels & Resorts, a Jean Georges Vongerichten restaurant housed in the new W Atlanta-Buckhead. W Hotels and developer Noble Investment Group enlisted the artistic advice and expertise of interior decorator Thom Filicia, the designer-turned-household-name thanks to Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. The rectangular shaped hotel has a modern exterior, with small glass façade that exposes the elevator, and a country club chic interior theme. The design elements bring many earth tones together and mix retro-inspired furniture pieces with country elements such as a white antler-inspired chandelier and seating with punchy prints.

The W Living Room blends contemporary designs and Filicia’s retro country club chic, through items such as nearly transparent tones and glass pieces, to bright fabrics such as animal print-inspired pillows and patterned screens. The hotel also has a gym with trainers available, private cabanas alongside the heated Infinity pool, and rooms and suites with flat screen televisions and iPod docking stations, thereby catering to the jetsetera generation, if they are willing to venture beyond New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Tokyo and London.

For dining and drinking, look to the in-house properties. French chef, restaurateur and author Jean Georges Vongerichten, whose restaurants include Spice Market and Mercer Kitchen, opened the first stateside Market restaurant, in this hotel, with an exotic menu inspired by flavors from Italy, France and Asia. Alongside the restaurant is a Whiskey Blue bar from celebrity and entrepreneur Randy Gerber. Whiskey Blue is a modern minimalist rooftop bar accessed by a glass elevator and an illuminated walkway, with tunes coming from the resident DJ.

Still amazed by W Hotels? There’s more. The brand that brought the chic boutique hotel to the masses plans to triple its footprint by 2011, with properties planned for Paris, Milan, Barcelona, London, Bali, Boston, Hoboken, Dubai (UAE), Santiago, Chile, and Doha, Qatar.

W Hotels Bonus:
W Hotels is planning a new group of spas and resorts called W Retreat & Spa, which will begin with locations in Bali, Koh Samui, Thailand, and Vieques Island, a beautiful peaceful island belonging to Puerto Rico. The fourth location planned, Verbier, Switzerland, will be W Hotels’ first ski resort.

Starwood Bonus:
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and Spatality Holdings teamed up to enhance W Hotels sister brand, Sheraton, via a multi-year agreement that will see Nectar Spa and its affiliates bring the Nectar Spa brand to Sheraton properties worldwide, starting in 2009.

Where:
A basic room for two at the Buckhead location might start around $250 a night, including taxes. For more information and pictures of the W Atlanta-Buckhead,or take make reservations visit W Atlanta-Buckhead website.