About Us

The Colwen Story

In 1998, Colin Nadeau and Wendell Butcher launched Colwen Lodging with a blank canvas to develop and manage a 108-room Residence Inn in Foxborough, MA. Combining their two names into one, the partnership immediately set new standards winning Hotel of the Year in 1999.

Changing our name years later – a shift to Colwen Hotels – and expanding 30+ properties, our award-winning, diversified portfolio represents the best hotel brands in the world in emergent markets and mixed-use developments.

As travel demands evolve and hotels mean something different now, our team stays ahead of the curve by designing state-of-the-art destinations that reimagine the guest experience. In each property, innovation and storytelling create unique, relevant spaces that resonate with customers. We treat each property differently with signature design that is upscale-stylish and artistically inspired. Our portfolio is our art gallery where guests feel welcome and find surprises in unexpected places. Our people are the curators.

Colwen Hotels embraces a design that address today’s culture in a new and meaningful way with leading-edge innovation. We bring together the best in the business, dynamic teams who strive to deliver a frictionless customer experience. Our passionate team continuously challenges the status quo and delivers remarkable quality with high standards and genuine hospitality. We strive to achieve excellence and if needed, our Chairman, Leo Xarras, will Windex the windows right before a grand opening.

Leo Xarras is a hospitality industry veteran with more than 30 years of diverse hotel development and management experience in both the United States and the Caribbean.  In addition to his development expertise, Xarras is the Chairman and CEO of Colwen Design and Purchasing, a 2018 IIDA New England Award Winning company for its design of The Row Hotel at Assembly Row. This company executes Leo’s vision for the artistic design of hotels from building architecture to interior decor and installs millions of dollars of furniture annually.  Xarras also serves as Principal of Colwen Hotels, directly overseeing management of the lodging portfolio.

As owner and operator of hotels, we are a hospitality company built on hard work, character and ingenuity. We are one of the largest Marriott franchisees in the U.S., and we are expanding further through our aggressive new development pipeline. We have a cultural thread that unites our team with a goal of making people feel good about where they stay.