The new JW Marriott hotel under construction in Grand Rapids, Mich., center, will feature a 19th floor and lounge exclusively for female clientele. (Photo by Noel A. Webley II)
Posted on 05/17/2007 10:55:54 AM PDT by Incorrigible
By CHRIS KNAPE
| The new JW Marriott hotel under construction in Grand Rapids, Mich., center, will feature a 19th floor and lounge exclusively for female clientele. (Photo by Noel A. Webley II) |
|
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Among the amenities planned for this city's new JW Marriott hotel, one might be a first in America.
The Alticor Inc.-owned riverfront hotel is reserving its 19th floor and a lounge exclusively for female clientele when it opens Sept. 19.
Andrea Groom, a spokeswoman for the 24-story, 340-room hotel, said the idea recognizes more than half of all business travelers are women.
"A lot of women are saying they're not feeling like they're safe when they're traveling to a strange city,'' Groom said. "They don't necessarily want to go down to a lounge and feel like they are getting hit on by guys.''
The women-only rooms also will have amenities not found in other rooms, such as chenille throw blankets, ionic hair dryers, jewelry holders and special bath products.
Access to those rooms will come at a $25 to $30 per night premium over standard rates of about $229.
Is it legal?
Harold Core, a spokesman for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, said he wasn't sure.
"You cannot deny a person services just because they are male or female,'' Core said. "In a lot of cases, there could be a nondiscriminatory reason where a hotel would have that kind of set-up or policy. But I can't speak to what that reasoning would be.''
He cited restrooms and locker rooms as examples of gender-specific amenities that are legal.
"I can imagine if this is something they're announcing publicly, it is something that will either come to a court or come to our commission,'' he said.
George Aquino, general manager of the hotel, said with only a small percentage of women-only rooms, he doesn't expect it to become an issue.
News of the women-only floor and lounge emerged Tuesday as the company announced a Sept. 19 grand opening gala. The hotel's restaurant and other amenities will be open Sept. 21.
Regular room reservations will be taken via Marriott's reservation system beginning in June.
The hotel will include a restaurant called six.one.six featuring "regional American fare with global influences.''
A special technology package in each room will allow guests to plug in laptops and music players and utilize the in-room speakers and 32-inch plasma TV.
(Chris Knape is a reporter for the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press. He can be contacted at cknape(at)grpress.com.)
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You’re right. The country has bought into a load of crap.
I traveled to Japan after graduating from college. I stayed in a upscale hotel that boasted not one but two floors for women only. I thought it was a nice idea. The hotel that I was in catered to an international clientele. Some of the men, no doubt inspired by Hollywood, viewed American women as easily available.
It is also a great way to, politely, get rid of a man. I’m sorry, I can’t ask you up. I’m on the women only floor.
Oh, for heaven's sake. As a woman, I have to say this guy's dealing with a bunch of stupid whiney loser women, probably dems. And it's pretty easy to avoid "getting hit on by guys"; any woman over 18 knows that. If they're too damn scared to travel alone, let the idiotic whimperers stay home and churn butter. Fools.
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