Absolutely, it moves Chattanooga to a different level.
Westin developer Ken DeFoor quips that if he had a dollar for everyone who said they feel like they're in New York when visiting the luxury Chattanooga hotel, he'd do all right.
The new downtown hotel with the gold exterior may flash a bit of the Big Apple with its presidential suite, which goes for about $2,500 a night - a likely record for a room in Chattanooga.
Since the hotel opened in October, the suite has been used a few times, though it's not on the market all the time and the room rate can vary, said Richard Pauley, the hotel's director of sales and marketing.
"We don't rent it a lot," he said. "We keep it more as a special room."
The top-floor suite is almost 1,300 square feet in size, compared to the Westin's typical room of between 400 and 500 square feet, Pauley said.
"It's a big room," he said about the suite that offers views north toward the city's waterfront from the 10-story, 260-room property developed by DeFoor and his brother Byron.
Typical room rates in the rest of the hotel start at about $149 nightly and rise to more than $200, Pauley said when the hotel opened.
Walking into the presidential suite, there's a conference table that an executive easily could hold a meeting around or a family host a nice dinner, Pauley said.
Nearby, there's another table along with a relaxing area with a couch and chairs near a big-screen TV, he said, and a half-bath is close by.
"For people who use the suite as a hospitality-plus room, they don't want people going into the [big, standalone] bathroom," Pauley said, adding there's "a nice big, king-size bedroom."
Staff photo by Doug Strickland / The view from the top-floor Alchemy bar is seen from the new downtown Westin hotel.A separate butler's area also offers a location for food and beverage prep, he said.
The hotel sales director said the suite has been used for "higher-end events" related to weddings, though it's also available to corporate executives or VIPs.
Bob Doak, who heads the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau, said he's not aware of any other hotel room in the city with a rate close to the Westin's presidential suite.
"Absolutely, it moves Chattanooga to a different level," he said. "We have a Westin now in Chattanooga. It's a world-class hotel."
Brian Jones of The Chattanoogan hotel said it, too, has a presidential suite. That suite goes for about $400 a night on weekends, he said.
The room, with one-and-a-half baths, sits on the top floor of the five-level hotel with a view of Lookout Mountain, Jones said.
Andrew Hibbard, vice president of finance and investments for Chattanooga-based Vision Hospitality Group, said its DoubleTree by Hilton hotel downtown has a two-bedroom presidential suite.
"It's nice to have something like that to offer," he said, though he didn't know the room rate. "Something with that added amenity is nice to have."
The DeFoors, who also developed the Embassy Suites in East Brainerd, said the Westin is the centerpiece of $88 million the brothers are spending in that part of downtown, including new event space, eateries, and street improvements that they're calling the West End.
Seven years ago, the developers bought the tower, known as the Gold Building, from health insurer BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.
Doak said the Westin is more than just adding 260 rooms in the city.
"We've got great hotels and hoteliers," he said. "We have another signature flag in our city. It was worth the wait."
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.