Not W Hotels. W, a chain of upscale hotels owned by Starwood Hotels, uses the web to its maximum advantage. With lush photography, interactive graphics, and clean, crisp design, the W Hotels website bursts with color and vitality – but in a classy way.

A primary promotional area occupies about two-thirds of the home page and rotates tantalizing special offers and promotions that may feature “wow-worthy rates,” free cocktails, free parking, and other goodies. Three smaller defined areas at the bottom of the page highlight certain hotels, offers with impending deadlines, or merchandise.

On the right side of the home page is an easy-to-use booking function; admittedly, one reason for its simplicity is that the chain has less than 40 hotels, so there isn’t much to choose from. But a nice touch is the fact that, once the traveler chooses a location, the search engine presents the W Hotels first, and follows that with other hotels in the Starwood family that have rooms available in the same geographic location. That’s a nice job of cross-selling. The site also provides a call-back feature so the traveler can enter a phone number and have an agent call when it’s convenient.

When a traveler clicks on any hotel, a welcome page comes up that offers a quick overview of the hotel’s key features, along with stunning photographs specific to the property (unlike some chains which use generic photography that does nothing to distinguish one hotel from another).

Each hotel’s description is, in effect, a mini-site that offers an extensive portfolio of photographs, plus information about the guest rooms, hotel features, the destination, meetings, and dining (under a heading titled “Indulge”). For every property, there is also a “Hotel Offers” page.

Cast away yet connected. Natural yet designed. Secluded yet welcoming. W Retreat & Spa – Maldives is a private island and luxury playground, where style flirts with soul in a wonderland of white-sand beaches, turquoise lagoons and breathtaking reefs.

According to W Hotels, “Ross will provide an authentic point of view for W, fostering industry relationships and identifying partnerships and collaborations that will make W Hotels a credible player within the fashion industry.” Ross will also work on W Hotels’ gift shop offerings, including “Global Glam,” a newly launched fashion and accessories collection created exclusively for W.

Last September, W Hotels took the equally unusual step of appointing producer Michaelangelo L’Acqua as the brand’s Global Music Director. W Hotels currently offers a “Symmetry CD” on its website that was developed by L’Acqua.

Whether it’s music, fashion, or its website, W Hotels seems to find uniquely creative ways to break away from traditional hotel chains. In an era of reduced luxury travel, this kind of differentiation is not only shrewd – it’s a necessity.