Starwood Vacation Ownership Embarks on Major Domestic and International Expansion Projects
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Starwood Vacation Ownership Embarks on Major Domestic and International Expansion Projects
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Category: North America & West Indies / Carribean islands
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2006-07-18
Construction at St. Regis, Westin and Sheraton Properties will Include More Than 1,600 New Units
Starwood Vacation Ownership (SVO), a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT), today announced its continued expansion plans including new construction on more than a dozen properties throughout the continental U.S., Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The plan will add more than 1,600 new villas to the Company's portfolio of properties currently operating under the Sheraton, Westin and St. Regis brands. The Company will have more than 6,000 villas in total upon final completion of the announced resorts.
“Starwood Vacation Ownership continues its robust growth under our Sheraton, Westin, and St. Regis brands, driving our aggressive expansion plans in new and existing domestic and international markets,” said Raymond L. “Rip” Gellein, Jr., chief executive officer of Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc. “With new projects launching in New York City, Aruba, Mexico, and Hawaii, expansion projects at several existing resorts, and sales underway or planned for all these locations combined, 2006 is sure to be another record-breaking year for us.”
Starwood Vacation Ownership's 2006 expansion plans include the following resorts:
St. Regis Residence Club
• St. Regis Residence Club, New York, NY: Sales began earlier this year at the first hotel-affiliated fractional property in New York within one of the world's most acclaimed hotels, the St. Regis New York. The mixed-use hotel and fractional ownership development will include 22 luxury residences at build-out, slated for occupancy in July 2006.
• St. Regis Residence Club, Punta Mita, Mexico: Construction recently began on the latest St. Regis mixed-use project which will include a hotel, whole ownership residences, and a St. Regis Residence Club fractional resort. The residence club will feature 36 free-standing villas scheduled to begin sales in mid-2007 with occupancy expected in late 2007.
Westin
• Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas, Kauai, HI: This new property, the first Westin-branded timeshare resort in Kauai, is under construction, and sales commenced in February. The mixed-use resort includes a two-story clubhouse and seven two- and three-story guest buildings with 179 two-bedroom lock-off units and six hotel units. The first units are scheduled to open in early 2008.
• Westin Ka‘anapali Ocean Resort Villas North, Maui, HI: Located next door to the award-winning Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort in Maui, this new beachfront resort will feature 258 two-bedroom lock-off units upon completion. The resort is currently in sales, and occupancy of the first phase is expected in mid 2007.
• Westin Ka‘anapali Ocean Resort Villas North II, Maui, HI: This resort, which will be SVO's third resort on Maui, is now in the entitlement process. This new property is in the early development phase and will consist of a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units upon completion.
• Westin St. John Resort & Villas, St. John, Virgin Islands: Construction continues this year, with the addition of 54 loft, two-, and three-bedroom units scheduled to open in late 2007.
• Westin Aruba Resort & Spa, Aruba: This mixed-use Westin-branded resort will include 154 two-bedroom lock-off units located next to the Westin hotel. The resort is scheduled to be in sales by early 2007.
• Westin Lagunamar Ocean Resort, Cancun, Mexico: Construction on SVO's first vacation ownership resort in Latin America is on schedule, with the first phase to be completed in 2008. It will be the first vacation ownership resort in Cancun, Mexico developed by a major U.S. lodging company, with 296 two-bedroom lock-off villas at build-out.
• Westin Kierland Villas, Phoenix, Arizona: Construction on the resort's final phase will be completed this year, with 54 two-bedroom lock-off units. Opened in 2004, the resort will have a total of 158 villas upon completion.
• Westin Desert Willow Villas, Palm Springs, California: SVO recently acquired 30 acres in the established Desert Willow development of Palm Desert, where it will build a new Westin-branded vacation ownership resort. Construction is scheduled to begin on the new villas in early 2008 with preconstruction sales set to begin later this year.
Sheraton
• Sheraton Kauai, Kauai, HI: This resort will be the first Sheraton-branded vacation ownership resort on the island of Kauai. Located adjacent to the existing Sheraton Kauai, the resort will feature roughly 388 one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The resort is currently in the pre-development entitlement process.
• Sheraton Broadway Plantation, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: The latest phase of this resort's expansion includes 22 new units to be completed in mid-2006. The resort has a potential expansion up to 504 vacation ownership villas upon final build out.
• Sheraton Vistana Villages, Orlando, Florida: The successor to the company's flagship resort, Sheraton Vistana Resort, will add an additional 195 units encompassing seven buildings in 2006 and 2007. Upon completion of this phase, the resort will have 615 villas and has a potential final build out of 1,415 villas.
“The popularity of all our brands including Sheraton, Westin, and St. Regis, has driven the very ambitious expansion of our resort portfolio. The targeting of premium locations, such as Hawaii, Manhattan, Mexico and the Caribbean, and the array of amenities offered through mixed-use developments is guided by our vacation owners' desire for a rich selection of vacation experiences,” said Gellein.
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