European boost for Westin
Starwood Hotels announced today that nine of its European properties are to become Westin hotels.
The Ciga hotels, which Starwood acquired when it bought Sheraton three years ago, will have their names changed tomorrow.
They are: the Hotel Palace, Milan; Hotel Excelsior, Rome; Hotel Excelsior, Florence; Hotel Europa and Regina, Venice; Hotel Excelsior, Venice Lido; Hotel Palace, Madrid; Hotel Alfonso XIII, Seville; Hotel Maria Cristina, San Sebastian; and the Hotel Bristol, Vienna.
Roeland Vos, European president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, said: "We have spent over $100m (£60m) in the past few years restoring these hotels to their original grandeur."
There are currently five Westin hotels in Europe, including the Turnberry in Scotland. A further three are being built in Europe and will all be open by spring 2001.
They are: the 248-bedroom Westin Rotterdam and the 172-bedroom Westin La Quinta Golf Resort in Marbella, Spain, which both open in September, and the 160-bedroom Westin Dublin in Ireland, which opens in April 2001.
Target markets for continued Westin growth in Europe include London, Paris, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Budapest, Hamburg, Istanbul, Prague, Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Munich and Jerusalem.
by Louise Bozec
