Next to the Toyota Music Factory, building crews are putting the finishing touches on the new 350-room Westin Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas in Texas, just across the street from the convention facility. M&C took a stroll through the construction-dust-filled property yesterday with general manager Todd Winch, destination sales executive Renee Reding and Maura Allen Gast, executive director of the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau, making it all the way up to the fourth floor and getting a look at the meeting space, pool area, fitness center and some guest rooms, including a junior suite.With a nod to the concert venue next door, the natural-light-filled meeting rooms have been given musical names, such as Harmony and Rhythm. The hotel will have 20,000 square feet of its own space, and, according to Reding, the convention center's 275,000 square feet of space are a short walk from the Westin's nearly 10,000-square-foot grand ballroom. Melody, the 4,200-square-foot junior ballroom, will open out onto a trio of private terraces and an event lawn that's almost ready -- it just needs the AstroTurf and a group ready to network with cocktails under the stars. The boardroom, a corner space with windows on two sides, is just waiting for its round table and 12 executives ready to brainstorm.
The lobby is taking shape and will soon sport an indoor/outdoor living wall, with seating that flows in and out as well. A coffee shop serving Starbucks products will be around the corner from registration. Mesa Mezcal, the restaurant, is one of the most complete parts of the hotel that we saw, with booths coming to life, a wonderful tin ceiling in place and the bar just about ready for patrons.
On the second floor, we looked in on the WestinWorkout Fitness Studio, where the flooring was being installed, and walked through the Vibe Pool Bar to look out on where a crew was working on the deck. Events for about 85 people will be able to take over the bar, pool area and small rooftop event lawn that overlooks the Toyota Music Factory.
Heavenly Beds and Baths are being installed in the guest rooms; we got to see both a king and double-queen room, as well as a spacious junior suite on the fourth floor that were almost ready for a good night's sleep. Winch described the large presidential suite that will feature a billiard table as well as a fair-sized dining area.
The hotel will open at the end of February 2019 with three floors of Westin Club Lounge offerings. The first groups are expected in-house in April.
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