The Westin Wilmington, a newly constructed hotel on the riverfront, opened on Thursday.
Owned by a joint venture between The Buccini/Pollin Group and Westport Capital, and managed by PM Hospitality Strategies, Inc., the Westin Wilmington is directly connected to The Chase Center on the Riverfront and features 180 rooms.
Rates for a weekend stay start at $139 a night, but rise to $230 during the week.
It is the first hotel to open in the city since 1980.
“The opening is another important step in the revitalization of Wilmington’s riverfront, and we are delighted to play a role,” said Joseph Bojanowski, president of PM. “This project has allowed us to showcase all of our management skills from planning to brand selection, from construction oversight to pre-opening. With the opening of this four-star hotel, Wilmington and the Chase Center are well positioned to be major players in the meetings and convention industry in the Mid-Atlantic region.”
“The new Westin may well be the most important Wilmington project in recent memory,” said Michael Purzycki, executive director of the Riverfront Development Corporation of Delaware, the state-funded, non-profit corporation which owns and operates the Chase Center. “A catalyst for Chase Center business, it is a symbol of Riverfront’s dynamic future, and surely will further enhance Wilmington’s reputation as an attractive, regional visitor destination.”
The new Westin is within close proximity of the restaurants, shops, entertainment and cultural venues in the Riverfront district including Frawley Stadium (home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks), Delaware Theatre Company, Delaware Children’s Museum, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts and the 15-screen Penn Cinema, featuring IMAX offerings. Also nearby are the offices of numerous Fortune 500 companies including Bank of America, Barclays, IBM and JP Morgan Chase.
“The opening of The Westin Wilmington is an important step forward in the redevelopment of the Riverfront district,” said Dave Pollin, co-founder of The Buccini/Pollin Group.
The property includes the River Rock Kitchen restaurant.
Combined, the Westin Wilmington and the adjacent Chase Center on the Riverfront offer 92,000 square feet of meeting space l for weddings, social galas and business functions, as well as a center serving law firms needing secure space while trying cases in Delaware. Additional facilities include a fitness studio, indoor pool and 24-hour business center.
The opening comes as hotel occupancy rates have improved from depressed recession levels. In addition, hotel rooms in Wilmington have sometimes been hard to find during the week.
