Starwood to Manage Two New Hotels Near Theme Park in Spain

BENIDORM, SPAIN-Two new hotels being developed adjacent a theme park in Benidorm, Spain, will be managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. upon completion in early 2005.

Starwood said this week it and Xeresa Golf S.A. have signed a long-term management agreement for the 236-room Sheraton Real de Faula Hotel & Spa and the 224-room Westin Real de Faula Hotel & Spa, both of which are located adjacent to the Terra Mitica theme park along the Costa Blanca coast, near the city of Alicante. The hotels are part of a 395-acre, $98-million resort development to be known as Real de Faula. Construction on the resort began in 2001.

Starwood’s Europe, Africa and Middle East Division President Roeland Vos says Starwood already operates eight hotels in Spain and will soon open four others. Vos adds that the hotels “will position the resort at the top end of the local market and are well within the category of Spain’s most upscale regional resorts.”