The Westin Miyako features 516 guest rooms and suites, six food and beverage venues, 13 meeting rooms and extensive recreational facilities. The grounds of the hotel total more than 5,920 sf and include five different wings. The size of the actual hotel was not available at press time.

An extensive upgrading program is underway at The Westin Miyako, including improvements to the facilities' lobby, guest rooms and several restaurants. Information on the cost of the upgrade program that is ongoing at the hotel was not available at press time. However, the hotel improvement program will be done in phases and is scheduled to be completed one year after the facility reverts back to the Westin flag or in April 2003.

Starwood's latest hotel in China, the Sheraton Shenyang Lido Hotel is the city's newest and largest hotel, company officials say. The facility is located in the heart of the newly established central business district and is just minutes away from The International Exhibition Center, the city center, the railway station and Taoxian International Airport.

Once operational, the hotel will be Starwood's 14th in China. The company has opened six hotels there in the past four years. Starwood also has another five facilities under development and scheduled to open in China in the next six to 18 months, says Starwood's Ko.

The Sheraton Shenyang Lido Hotel features 623 guestrooms and suites as well as banqueting and conference facilities with a 500-seat capacity.

Starwood's portfolio in China currently includes 10 Sheraton hotels in Suzhou, Xian, Beijing, Chengdu, Guilin, Nanjing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Wuxi and Hong Kong. The firm also operates two St. Regis hotels in Shanghai and Beijing; as well as Westin hotel in Macau.