Introducing Steven Walton
Steven Walton has worked in hospitality for over 20 years and has worked across many aspects of the industry. Beginning in free standing restaurants and bars and everywhere in hotels from banquets to his current role as a member of the executive team as a director of sales and marketing, Steven has seen it all. As an employee of Delta, Fairmont and now Marriott, he has worked across key brands and will head up the Sales and marketing division of the new JW Marriott in Edmonton’s ICE District, slated to open in January of 2019.
Interview
Thanks for sitting down with me Steven. Let’s jump right into it … can you tell me what we can expect from the new JW Marriott in Edmonton?
Absolutely! As I had mentioned in our earlier chat, we’re not putting a spaceship in downtown Edmonton that’s going to feel out of place. A whole lot of the design elements come from Alberta. So, the contrast of the seasons, the contrast from prairies to mountains to the badlands to Elk Island, those are things we are going to see throughout. We really want to zero in on the idea that it’s okay to be proud of Edmonton. Proud Edmontonian, proud Albertan and proud Canadian – the JW will really exude that all while being approachable and bring a level of modern hotel sophistication that has never been seen in Edmonton and frankly, Alberta. Approachable luxury is what JW is all about.
In the lobby, we see 20+ foot ceilings, hundreds of pot lights and ice marble. Our owner has called it the living room of Ice District. The lobby of a JW is very similar to a lobby of a Marriott with more upscale feel and finishings. It’s alive. There’s a large sitting area, it feels welcoming, all day dining, a lobby bar, upscale restaurant and lounge and a number of other key design features.
We’ll have 346 rooms. 211 of them will be king bedded. Another 111 will have 2 queens, which really just speaks to conference/business travel while still being able to accommodate leisure. If we have a concert going at Rogers Place or if there’s a hockey game going one, we need to be able to have that leisure component overlayed with the business travel and group convention side of things. There’s also a casino attached to Rogers Place and ICE district plaza will have constant year round programming so the leisure aspect is significant.
The King Rooms will have a 50” TV, a great working desk and plenty of surface space and areas to relax, so it’s a large room. They will all have stand up showers.
There’s a 4th floor Patio that services our spa. The entire 4th and 5th floor are completely dedicated to the spa and health club. As you can imagine, it’s going to be quite breathtaking when it’s done and likely be THE place to be fitness and spa wise in Edmonton.
We are 22 floors of hotel, the top level housing the executive club lounge and there are another 32 floors of residence, which are almost all sold out.
