Stein Hotels expands to North America and other international hotel news

Stein Hotels expands to North America
Stein Hotels and Resorts plans to expand its operations into North America. Chairman David Stein said that the company plans to operate its first properties in the USA in 2007, with ambitions to also open hotels in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean in the very near future. He said: "We began the company in Europe in 2002 with a single property, and grand plans to have 25 hotels within the decade. Five years later we have 17 properties in the portfolio, with seven more on the way, so the target of 25 hotels is already well ahead of our original schedule and pretty much a done deal. Therefore I figured the time was right to look for our next challenge, and the USA is the biggest challenge there is."

Fairmont to open in PittsburghFairmont Hotels & Resorts is to open a new hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the USA. The 185-room Fairmont Pittsburgh, which is set to open in summer 2009, is to be the city's first green building and will be built according to sustainable design and construction guidelines. The hotel, which will be located at Fifth Avenue and Market Street adjacent to Pittsburgh's Cultural District, will include a restaurant, lobby lounge and bar as well as 12,000sq ft of meeting space including a 6,000sq ft divisible ballroom and an 8,000sq ft spa and fitness centre.

Starwood opens first Italian W hotel in MilanStarwood is to launch a new property in Italy, with the opening of the W hotel Milan in December 2008. The 76-room property, which will be the first W hotel in Italy, will be located in the heart of Milan's Brera district, a former artists' enclave famous for its restaurants, art galleries, retail shops and cafés. Housed in a converted mid-20th century building, the hotel will include a signature restaurant, a destination rooftop bar, a spa and fitness centre. W Hotels is a global lifestyle brand with 21 properties. Further hotels are planned for Vieques, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Santiago, Athens, Istanbul, Doha, Dubai-Festival City, Dubai-The Palm, and Koh Samui.

Hilton Maldives resort upgrades to ConradHilton Hotels Corporation is to rebrand its Hilton Maldives resort and spa as a Conrad, the group's luxury hotel brand. The resort will be renamed the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island from December this year. The announcement follows the recent signing of an agreement to introduce a luxury Conrad resort and spa in Koh Samui, Thailand, in 2009, and complements the Conrad Bali resort and spa in Indonesia. President of Hilton Hotels Middle East and Asia Pacific Koos Klein said: "This decision reaffirms the premium positioning of the Hilton Maldives resort and spa, which has been internationally renowned for its combination of innovative world firsts such as Ithaa, its underwater restaurant, and the resort's consistently high luxury standards."

Wyndham launches in ChinaWyndham Hotel Group is to launch the Wyndham brand in China during the fourth quarter this year with the opening of a newly constructed, 550-room, 26-floor luxury hotel in Xiamen, Fujian Province. The Wyndham Xiamen hotel, now under construction by the He Ping Li Hotel Company in the center of Xiamen, will feature three full-service restaurants, a 300sq m lounge, fitness room, sauna, pool and 1,500sq m of meeting space including a 1,000sq m ballroom, boardroom and additional function rooms.

By Kerstin Kühn

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