Apr 30, 2012
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has been busy this week – first, its St. Regis brand made its debut in Qatar with the opening of the St. Regis Doha. The 336-room hotel, owned by Resorts Development Company and developed by Alfardan Group, is the second of three St. Regis openings planned for the Middle East within a year; the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi opened first last December and the St. Regis Abu Dhabi is due to open this autumn. Next, Starwood headed over to Iraq to sign an agreement with BCD Co. to manage a new-build Sheraton hotel in Erbil. Due to open in 2015 with 221 guest rooms and 39 suites, the Sheraton Erbil Hotel will be the group’s first hotel in the country for 20 years. Roeland Vos, Starwood Hotels & Resort’s president for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, said, “We are delighted to partner with BCD as we re-introduce Starwood to Iraq with Sheraton, our most iconic brand. The opening of the new Sheraton Erbil Hotel further underlines Starwood’s commitment to growth and expansion in the region.” Next stop was the emirate of Sharjah, UAE, where Starwood signed an agreement with businessman Amer Eisa Mousa Al Amri for the Aloft Sharjah. Marking the entry of the Aloft brand in the emirate, the 286-room hotel is scheduled to open at the beginning of 2015.
