Starwood to launch new Sheraton in Latvia and other international hotel news

Starwood to launch new Sheraton in Latvia
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has announced the signing of the Sheraton Riga Hotel in Latvia, a new build 312-room property scheduled to open in early 2010. Designed by local architect Tadao un Luksevics, the hotel will form part of a mixed-use development called ‘Z-Towers', which will comprise two high-rise towers, of which one will be the Sheraton hotel and the other offices. Business, conference and events guests will be able to make use of the business centre and 1,738sq m of meeting and banqueting space, including an 800sq m ballroom. The development is envisaged to be the largest business centre and premier high rise development in the Baltic States.

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants builds hotel in Virginia
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants has announced plans for a new boutique hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, in the USA. Construction of the 107-room property is set to begin this month, with the hotel scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2009. The yet-to-be-named £25m boutique hotel will be located in Old Town Alexandria and will feature a 4,000sq ft destination spa with five private treatment rooms, as well as an upscale restaurant and wine bar with casual dining. It will also include around 3,000sq ft of meeting space.

Fairmont New Orleans to become Waldorf Astoria
The Fairmont New Orleans in Louisiana, USA, has been sold to a development group, which plans to convert the property into a Waldorf-Astoria hotel. The Dimension Development Company paid $17m (£8.5m) for the 114-year-old downtown hotel, which has been shut since it was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The company intends to spend $100m (£50m) on refurbishing the hotel with plans for the new 500-room property to be slightly smaller than its predecessor. The hotel had been a Fairmont property since 1965; before that it was known as the Roosevelt Hotel.

Golden Tulip looks for growth in the Middle East
Hotel company Golden Tulip has revealed that it is negotiating 10 new hotel management contracts in the Middle East. The deals include the possible opening of eight new hotels in Jeddah, one in Dubai and one in Muscat, Oman. The company already operates 12 hotels in the region and plans to open a further six during 2008 and 2009. Golden Tulip said that it was concentrating on opening four-star hotels in the region, with the ultimate aim of being the leading four-star hotel chain in the Middle East and north Africa.

By Kerstin Kühn

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