Starwood signs management contract for first Westin in India

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has signed a management contract with Vatika Group, one of the leading real estate players in India, to manage The Westin New Delhi Hotel, Gurgaon, India.

Scheduled to open in 2007, the hotel will feature 300 rooms, five dining outlets, 17,500 square feet of meeting and function space, an approximately 16,000 square feet health and spa center, as well as retail outlets. Located strategically in Gurgaon, the emerging central business district of New Delhi, The Westin New Delhi Hotel will provide travelers easy access to key convention and commercial offices which have started to shift towards Gurgaon area due to lack of sufficient land for development of sizeable projects in the current New Delhi central business district.

Vatika Group is also developing a major residential complex in Vatika City, approximately 5 minutes’ drive from the hotel. Vatika City, the largest group housing project in Gurgaon, will comprise 150 Westin Serviced Residences and several low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise towers comprising a combination of 1,500 high-end two, three, four and five bedroom apartment units which will be sold to individual owners. The Westin Serviced Residences will be managed by Starwood as an adjunct to The Westin New Delhi Hotel.

The signing of The Westin New Delhi Hotel & Residences, Gurgaon heralds the entry of Westin Hotels & Resorts into India.

“India, Asia’s fourth largest economy, has been very aggressive and successful with driving tourism through a high-profile campaign, “Incredible India”, which showcases everything from its beautiful beaches and mountains to spiritual and rural destinations. This year, tourist arrivals to India have been growing at a rate of close to 20% compared with last year,” said Miguel Ko, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia-Pacific.

“We expect this to be the first of several hotel projects we will work on with Vatika,” added Ko.

New Delhi, the capital of India, is located in northern India, and is the key government center and residence of India’s heads of state. Gurgaon, situated south-west of the capital in the state of Haryana, is amongst the fastest growing satellite cities in India. Gurgaon commenced its development as a major satellite city of Delhi in the early 1990s and since then, close to 15 million square feet of commercial space has been developed, housing various multi-national companies that prefer the location in the satellite city due to availability of space, quality office space and relatively more affordable rents, which are limited in the current New Delhi central business district.

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