WESTIN ANNOUNCES GLOBAL EXPANSION AND NEW DESIGNS FOR ITS AUSTRALIAN HOTELS
Westin announces global expansion and new designs for its Australian hotels - Luxury Travel Magazine
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| By: Dave Cauldwell |
| Westin recently unveiled two new design schemes that will soon be incorporated into its Australian hotels. The first is a two-metre high vertical garden wall made from slate with nooks out of which green leafy plants sprout. The walls will be positioned in lobbies, the idea being to create a natural aesthetic as soon as guests enter the hotel. The wall’s design was inspired by NASA research into the filtration properties of plants and their ability to clean the air. Also part of the new design scheme is the candle wall, a glimmering addition to Westin’s renewal suites where guests can unwind in a spa or a steam bath. The wall is divided into small squares. Each square has a recess into which a candle is placed to create a soothing ambience. The designs will be incorporated into the Westin Melbourne (and its other Australian outlets) as part of its continued refurbishment. Its rooms have already had a $6 million facelift and there are also plans to upgrade the lobby, the restaurant, the gym and the hotel’s function rooms. Further afield, the hotel chain recently announced plans to increase its portfolio in Latin America. The Starwood Group (which owns Westin) aims to double its nine-property Latin American portfolio by the end of 2014. It has opened its first hotel in Peru, in San Isidro – the financial and shopping hub of Lima. Westin’s Peruvian foray follows its recent entry into the Costa Rican market, where it has opened its first all-inclusive resort at Playa Conchal. Costa Rica’s increasing popularity with tourists and leisure travellers has been closely monitored by Osvaldo Librizzi, President of Starwood Hotels and Resorts in Latin America. He says that recent growth in the all-inclusive luxury resort market in Mexico and Central America, coupled with increasing demand from Westin’s members for vacation packages, has created fertile conditions for its entry into Costa Rica and the all-inclusive market. Westin is also poised to make its debut in Panama where it intends to open two hotels; it will also add to the six hotels it currently has in Mexico. Over in Asia, Westin will soon stamp its footprint in Nanjing (NANJING), the bustling capital city of Jiangsu Province, China. Westin Nanjing will be the chain’s first hotel in the country’s eastern province. “The Westin Nanjing will give us a foothold in one of the country’s most vital economic and cultural centres,” says Nancy London, vice president and global leader for Westin Hotels. By the end of 2012 Starwood intends to increase the number of hotels in China from 70 to 114. |