Amid growing travel interest in China, Starwood continues its
aggressive push in the region. In the past several weeks, the
company’s Westin Brand has been selected for a new 400-room hotel
in Guangzhou, and Starwood also has been named to manage the
Sheraton Urumqi Hotel in China.
Guangzhou Cheng Jian Tian Yu Real Estate Development Co. Ltd., a
subsidiary of Poly (Hong Kong) Investments Ltd., named Starwood to
manage a 400-room hotel scheduled to open in 2007 in Guangzhou’s
emerging central business district. The city is in the heart of the
Pearl River Delta, approximately 113 miles from Hong Kong.
The hotel is part of a multi-purpose complex that houses the
hotel in one tower and office space and luxury retail shops in
another. The Westin Guangzhou will feature 13,000 square feet of
meeting space, four food and beverage outlets, a health club and
spa and an indoor swimming pool.
“We are thrilled that Westin has been selected for this much
sought after development opportunity in an emerging business and
financial market such as Guangzhou,” said Miguel Ko, President of
Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific. “China’s fast-growing
travel sector, including business and leisure travel and the
meetings industry, has raised the demand, from both national and
international travelers, for upscale and international hotel
products and services.”
The Westin Guangzhou hotel marks another major step in Starwood
Hotels & Resorts’ fast-track expansion in China. This is the
fifth development in China signed by Starwood in 2005. New
developments signed earlier this year include Sheraton hotels in
Chongqing and Shanghai as well as a new Westin hotel in
Nanjing.
The signing of The Westin Guangzhou also heralds the continued
expansion of Westin Hotels & Resorts in China. The Westin
Guangzhou Hotel will join The Westin Shanghai, The Westin Beijing -
Financial Street and The Westin Nanjing as the fourth Westin hotel
in mainland China. The Westin Beijing - Financial Street and The
Westin Nanjing are slated to open in 2006 and 2009,
respectively.
Starwood also has been named to manage the Sheraton Urumqi Hotel
in Urumqi, China, the capital city of Xianjiang Province. Scheduled
to open in early 2007, the hotel will be in an area that
encompasses approximately 2.2 million square feet of upscale retail
space, entertainment outlets and hotels.
The Sheraton Urumqi Hotel will feature 410 rooms and
approximately 18,500 square feet of meeting space, three dining
outlets, a health club and spa, an indoor swimming pool and retail
shops. The hotel will be the first internationally branded upscale
hotel to open in Urumqi.
