Sneak Peek Into The Westin The Woodlands

The Westin The Woodlands, the newest tower along the Waterway, is gearing up for its grand opening, and we got a sneak peek.

The Westin The Woodlands will open in early March, but an exact date hasn't been set. From the fountain across the street from Bar Louie, the exterior has some interesting features. The drive-up entrance is along the left side.

General manager Mike Speicher showed us around the property, which was just getting furniture delivered.

The front desk has a basket weaving pattern in various colors. To the left is a nook with a Starbucks and “The Haven” with laptops, printers and meeting space.

A chandelier installment “flows” throughout the entry, reminiscent of water because the hotel is on the Waterway. The property has curves throughout, including the walls, hallways and rooms.

On the left, by the ballroom, a living wall is being installed. The plants are potted individually, and stones are being added. A waterfall will run over it all. Mike tells us this isn't a normal Westin feature, but they put in the little extra because it filters air and is calming. This hotel is actually chock-full of things outside of the Westin norm. Starwoods has spec options that most new hotels choose from, but Mike says developer Howard Hughes wanted to go above and beyond, so almost everything is custom.

Here's the bar just off the front desk, which has a cozy lounge around it.

We love this beautiful tree installment in the restaurant. Mike tells us wood is an important design feature in the hotel because it gives such a warm feel. The restaurant alone has walnut, birch and maple, and even features not made of wood are designed to look like it. (Example: The walls here.)

In front of the walls is a section that can serve as spillover from the bar/lounge, or can be closed off as a private dining room.

The restaurant is called CURRENT and includes an open kitchen. The menu changes on the equinox and solstice, a flashback to how people used to eat what’s fresh for the season. Mike tells us it'll use local produce, beef from the DFW area, pork and poultry from Houston and shrimp from the Matagorda area. The menu will center around Texas staples like peaches and pecans. Besides being healthier and giving more nutrients, Mike says it’s unique, and going with in-season local ingredients uses much less energy than transporting from South America, like so many restaurants.

The wine room is early in its build-out (they got the funky installment in early, at least). There will be a red and a white cabinet and a table where guests can have curated wine dinners specialized as they want. (Only cabernet sauvignons? No problem. Only wine from Australia? Gotcha. Something wildly different for each course? They're on it.)

Here's the Edgewater Ballroom, the hotel's largest meeting space. Mike loves that it doesn't look like any other ballrooms he's seen, and says a bunch of weddings have already spoken for the space.

There are seven breakout/smaller meeting rooms, like this one. Another meeting space is the tangent area, a new element in all Westins. They seat about six people and rent by the hour by checking availability at the front desk. They're all ready for meetings, with a computer, three monitors, a large screen, casual seating and office supplies stocked.

The fitness center is about 1k SF and includes free earbuds and chilled or dry towels.

Here's the pool deck, with the infinity pool overlooking the Waterway.

The “Sidebar” by the pool deck will be upscale—it'll only allow ages 21 and up and enforce a dress code. Mike tells us Westin will cap entry at a certain number of people (they're prepared to handle a wait with a line down the stairwell), but registered guests will always be allowed in.

Sidebar has little quiet niches—Mike says it'll be much brighter and hopefully quieter than most bars. It should be a great space for business meetings or a lovely night with your spouse where you can actually hear each other talk.

We snapped a premium king room. Here's the standard Westin Heavenly Bed with a wedged backboard that makes rooms look bigger. A remote by the bed controls lights and temperature in the room. Balconies are attached; this one overlooks the new Waterway amphitheater. A typical Westin room is 350 SF; Mike tells us this hotel averages closer to 400 SF. The hotel will also feature two executive floors with larger suites. Mike says they're set up to host a board of directors—there's a presidential suite on the 12th floor for the CEO and a series of suites on the 11th for the other execs, plus an executive club lounge. One company has already signed up for the package.

A smart little feature—since so many people walk into rooms and toss their bags on the bed, The Westin The Woodlands has short tables that serve as seats or shelves. That'll save white duvet covers to avoid getting smudged by dirty luggage.

Every hotel has outlets by the desk, but this one includes HDMI hookups so you can plug in your laptop and watch Netflix (or whatever) on the TV.

The rooms have doorbells, and they're dual-purpose. Besides outdating knocking, you can turn them red if you don't want to be disturbed or green to request service.