The W Hotel in Buckhead may have waited one weekend too long to celebrate its first anniversary with a snow-themed Winter Wanderlust party Saturday and Sunday.
Invited media and the hotel’s weekend guests were treated to a pool party at Wet, the hotel’s fourth floor outdoor poolside party spot, overlooking Peachtree Road.
“When we first came up with this theme, Atlanta maybe had snow once a year if we were lucky,” explained W Buckhead general manager Marylouise Fitzgibbon. “But with the recent snowfall, we were worried that people would just be bitter about us making it snow.”
There was no trace of bitterness by the heated pool where bikini-clad bathers and buff boys had been hired to professionally frolic in the deep end for guests throughout the evening.
But a single snow machine had trouble whipping up a storm similar to the winter wonderland Mother Nature herself had produced in Atlanta just the previous weekend.
It was more like a series of flurries that temporarily drifted across the city skyline before melting in the more spring-like temperatures.
To make matters more challenging, safety-minded W staffers immediately placed a rug over the area just as the machine threatened to produce a small slush pile poolside.
Still, cups of hot chocolate enhanced by generous doses of Bailey’s Irish Cream were more than welcomed by guests.
Fitzgibbon concedes launching a W in Buckhead amidst a cratering economy was a challenge over the past year but says the Buckhead community has really embraced the business.
“For us, it wasn’t just about surviving,” she explained. “It was about thriving and bringing a sense of fun to things. And what better way to celebrate our first anniversary than turning our pool overlooking Peachtree into a hot tub!”
After the sun went down, the Wanderlusting (and snow machine) migrated upstairs to the hotel’s rooftop nightclub Whiskey Blue.
Cocktail waitresses were adorned with snowflakes inside the nightspot that had been accented with fluffy white cotton faux snow for the occasion.
Among the guests Intel spotted: AJC business scribe Leon Stafford, Creative Loafing Ed Loves Bacon blogger Edward Adams, Hawks and Thrashers rep Kenan Woods and celeb shutterbug Ben Rose who had the arduous task of photographing the bathing beauties throughout the evening.
