Aug. 22--An Oklahoma developer is hoping a new Uptown hotel with an improbable name will be a big hit with the cutting-edge crowd. 

Hotel ZaZa, a 148-room luxury "boutique" hotel, is under construction across from the Hotel Crescent Court near the corner of Maple and McKinney avenues. 

The four-story hotel with its French neoclassical architecture, according to developer Charles S. Givens Interests, will offer "oversized and sexy rooms" and a "totally cool hotel experience" when it opens next fall. 

"This hotel is going to be so far from stuffy," said Oklahoma builder and investor Charles Givens. "You will need a sense of humor to stay here." 

Along with rooms averaging around 420 square feet, Hotel ZaZa will feature a hotel bar, restaurant, spa facilities and meeting rooms. 

Parking will be in an underground garage. 

"We closed on the loan last Friday and will start digging on Wednesday," said Mr. Givens. He has built office and hotel projects in Oklahoma, but ZaZa is his first project in Dallas. 

"I travel to Dallas often, and for years I've stayed at The Mansion [on Turtle Creek] and the Crescent, which are fine hotels," he said. "I just wanted something newer, hipper, cooler -- something with a little bit more life to it." 

So Mr. Givens decided to build his own hotel. 

Real estate broker Mike Cagle of John Bowles Co. assembled the land for the development, and BancFirst of Oklahoma is providing financing. 

Oklahoma architect Richard Brown and Associates designed the building with an exterior of pale yellow stucco, cast stone and decorative iron. The mansard roof will be clad in slate. 

Mr. Givens said that although ZaZa resembles its larger neighbor, the Crescent, in architectural drawings, "They really won't look similar." 

"The Crescent is more formal," he said. "This building will have a more Mediterranean, south of France look." 

"I want this to be an urban resort," Mr. Givens said. 

Rates in the hotel are planned to start around $165 a night and range to $700 for the "presidential suite." 

Mr. Givens said the furnishings will vary from room to room. "You may have a Ralph Lauren room one time and a Versace room the next," he said. "The room across the hall might be Texas chic." 

The developer has hired Olympus Hospitality of Dallas to operate the hotel. 

If nothing else, the name of the Uptown project sets it apart. Mr. Givens said he picked the name ZaZa, which doesn't mean anything, after sorting through "more hotel names than you would imagine." 

"I felt like ZaZa kind of gave it a more forward feel," he said. "I wanted something people weren't going to forget." 

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