[sakau2007]

Though I understand the disappointment, this is a much more practical project. I don't think there is yet a demand for that many more luxury/business class hotel projects. Perhaps with a convention center expansion, there would be... but this is aimed more at the middle class, perhaps visiting relatives in the hospital. I think that's a good thing because there isn't a whole lot of middle of the road options in the city. Although the design I agree is fairly bland, I didn't ever really expect it to be any bigger than 6-8 stories with such a large footprint.

You have to keep in mind that there is still a lot of vacant and under utilized land near the city center. There is no need to build skyscrapers when there is so much room left for infill development of this size.

I will concede the design is rather bland... but something more exotic would probably not have made the project cost effective.