W Hotel opens Atlanta’s second helipad

3/10/2009
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - by Leon Stafford
Email: lstafford@ajc.com
Website: http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2009/03/10/helipad_W_Hotel.html

Developer Hal Barry has found a way to beat Atlanta’s notorious traffic congestion: fly in via helicopter.

On Tuesday, Barry and his wife, Linda, and Delta Air Lines flight attendant Katherine “Deltalina” Lee inaugurated the use of the helipad atop the recently opened 28-story downtown W Hotel and Residences.

“I’ve been in a lot of helicopters before and this was great,” said Barry, after the inaugural flight. He said it took four minutes to go from Hartsfield Jackson International Airport to the helipad, about a 12-mile trip. “Atlanta is not helicopter friendly at this time. We’re going to change that,” he said.

The helipad is the second to open in downtown Atlanta, after a helipad that opened almost a year ago atop the Hilton Garden Inn across from Centennial Olympic Park.

Helipads are the latest amenity offered by Atlanta hotels to distinguish themselves in the competitive lodging sector.

From butlers to spas to restaurants created by celebrity chefs, the city’s hotels are sprinting to top each other to attract big spenders.

The W helipad is open to residents of the building’s 72 units.

The Barrys live on an estate 50 miles south of Atlanta.

The couple hope to save time and stress by flying regularly between their Bear Creek Farm and their new residence at the W downtown.

Hal Barry developed the hotel as part of his company’s nine-block Allen Plaza project. The development, which includes the headquarters of Southern Company and the Atlanta office of Ernst and Young, is expected to cost more than $2 billion.


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