The Nines, a 330-room Starwood Luxury Collection hotel, is scheduled to open in downtown Portland, OR, in fall 2008. The hotel will occupy the top nine floors of the historic Meier & Frank Building in downtown Portland; a renovated Macy's department store will fill the building's lower five floors. A key component of the $118 million project an atrium, which will give all the hotel rooms--even those on the interior--access to a view and natural light, Starwood said. The interior rooms will overlook the glass-roofed lobby area, while the exterior rooms will get views of the city. The hotel's plans also call for a restaurant and lounge on the lobby level and a ballroom, as well as conference and banquet facilities. The current renovation project is using sustainable practices, with a goal of achieving LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
