St Regis Hotel Shanghai

Starwood to Debut Its Four Points by Sheraton Brand in Spain Later This Year

BARCELONA, Spain--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) has signed an agreement with Amrey Hotels S.L. to operate a Four Points Hotel in Barcelona. The Four Points by Sheraton Barcelona Diagonal will open this fall marking the entry of Starwood’s Four Points brand into Spain. Located in the buzzing district 22@ adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea and within less than 20 kilometres from Barcelona Airport, the Four Points by Sheraton Barcelona Diagonal will comprise 154 guest rooms, an all-day dining restaurant, a café, signature bar and fitness centre.

“We are delighted to further strengthen our partnership with Amrey as we debut our Four Points brand in Spain. This successful relationship goes back more than five years with our Le Meridien Ra Beach Hotel & Spa just outside of Barcelona”, said Roeland Vos, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. “Barcelona has always been a top destination for international travellers and a perfect market for our unique and compelling lifestyle brands. This agreement further underlines Starwood’s commitment to continued growth and investment in the city of Barcelona and throughout Spain.”

Enric Reyna Martínez, President of Amrey Group states, “We are very happy to expand our existing relationship with Starwood Hotels to introduce Four Points to Spain and we are sure this is a great business for both parties. Amrey Group and Starwood share common views on hospitality. Together, our goal is to offer guests the best branded hotel experience in the industry.”

The Four Points by Sheraton Barcelona Diagonal will feature all of the brand’s defining elements, including the signature Four Points by Sheraton Four Comfort bed, Best Brews™ local beer experience and free Wi-Fi in all public areas, reflecting the brand’s promise and insight into the needs of today’s traveller. The hotel will also offer three meeting room spaces, a pre-function area and a business centre.

The Four Points by Sheraton Barcelona Diagonal is located within 22@, known locally as Barcelona’s innovation district. The area was redeveloped and launched by the city of Barcelona in 2000 to become the centre for design, media and creative firms. Over time, the neighbourhood has also become a hub for residential developments, retail stores and shopping centres.

As the Lhasa St. Regis opens, Tibet becomes China's next luxury ...

When you say the words, “St. Regis Hotel,” rarely do Tibet’s open skies on top of the world come to mind. But officials in China's Tibet Autonomous Region are trying to change that, hoping to jump-start the area’s allure for high-end tourists (and the dollars that come with them) with the opening of the St. Regis Lhasa Resort.

At about 3,600 meters above sea level, the three-hectare St. Regis Lhasa -- which opened last week -- is one of the highest luxury hotels in the world, with views of the Himalayas and Lhasa Valley.

The 150-room, 12-villa resort, like many new hotels, was designed with sustainable features that include solar panels and an underground water recycling system, while locally-sourced produce is served in the resort's three restaurants. 

The resort's design was inspired by the nearby and still-active Sera Monastery. Built in 1419, it is a major tourist draw to the area.

"The Sera Monastery is beautiful, dramatic and lively, and very much what I wanted to capture about Tibetan culture," Jean-Michel Gathy, principal designer of Denniston International Architects, and the interior designer for the St. Regis Lhasa, told  Luxist.com

"While the monastery is an immense place," he continued, "I appreciated how they have created many intimate spaces and courtyards. It was an excellent model for introducing the St. Regis brand to this region."

The St. Regis will have the market all to itself, but only for a few years, as construction on new Shangri-La and InterContinental properties started this year, according to Wang Songping, deputy chief of the tourism bureau of Tibet.

Tibet isn’t only going after major brand names though. Buildings like the 300-year-old former residence of Ling Rinpoche, senior tutor to the 13th Dalai Lamaon, which sits near the historic Jokhang Temple, are being converted into boutique hotels to meet the demand of luxury travelers to Tibet.

"The reason why we are here is the Tibetan culture," said Kerstin Odnun, a German tourist who is staying at the Lingtsang Boutique Hotel, to Chinese state media .

Far from mourning the loss of an active Buddhist temple like the one where she’s staying, Odnun said she enjoys the Tibetan ambiance and originality of the hotel.

Lobsang Tashi, the hotel owner, said he got the idea of protecting the old architecture by running a boutique hotel after conducting a case study into how Europeans like to travel.

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