A320 EOW

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040624/245116_1.html

Press Release Source: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc

Starwood Continues Rapid Expansion in China with Announcement of Sheraton Xiamen Hotel
Thursday June 24, 9:00 am ET
Sheraton Xiamen will be Starwood's 23rd Property in China and Xiamen's First Five-Star Hotel

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 24, 2004-- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc (NYSE: HOT - News) and Xiamen Fuchun Orient Hotel Company Limited announced an agreement for Starwood to manage the Sheraton Xiamen Hotel in China. The newly built 348-room Sheraton Xiamen Hotel is scheduled to open in June 2005 and will be the city's first five-star hotel. With the opening of the Sheraton Xiamen, Starwood will have the largest inventory of upscale hotels in China, bringing the total number of properties to 23, more than any other international hotel company.

"China has much to offer to the business, leisure, conference and incentive travelers, whether it be fascinating destinations, rich history and culture, business and conference facilities or world class hotels," said Miguel Ko, President, Asia-Pacific, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. "They can select from a range of fine Starwood properties in the capital city of Beijing, bustling metropolis of Shanghai, resort haven of Sanya on Hainan Island, and numerous cultural and business destinations throughout the country."

Starwood has expanded its portfolio in China significantly over the last year with the opening of Sheraton hotels in Sanya on Hainan Island, and in Dongguan in the Guangdong province. Starwood also recently signed for the development of two new hotels in Shenzhen and one in Ningbo.

Xiamen is one of China's most vibrant cities with many thriving industries, primarily in international trade, education, science and tourism. Located on the southeastern coast of Fujian province in China, Xiamen is a beautiful seaport city that boasts a long and colorful history dating back 3,000 years. The city offers extensive and varied sightseeing experiences - from thousand year-old Buddhist temples to fortresses. It is the cultural and academic center of Fujian Province, with a rich 19th-century European flavor in its architecture. It is also one of the most tastefully renovated cities in China, giving it the feel of a holiday resort.

The Sheraton Xiamen Hotel will be located in Jiantou District and is within walking distance to Xiamen's largest retail mall. Jiantou is designated as the new commercial and business district of Xiamen city. The hotel is part of a multi-purpose complex that houses the hotel in one tower and condominiums and a retail podium in the next. The hotel will feature 348 rooms, including 40 suites, and approximately 10,000 square feet of meeting and function space. The hotel facilities will also include four dining outlets, sports and recreational facilities, a health club and spa, an indoor swimming pool and retail center.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 740 properties in more than 80 countries and 110,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton and W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For further information, please visit www.starwood.com.

* Please contact Starwood's new toll-free media hotline at (866) 4-STAR-PR (866-478-2777) for photography or additional information**
* * JOURNALISTS - PLEASE NOTE: JOIN STARWOOD'S PRESS RELEASE ALERT SERVICE TO RECEIVE STARWOOD COMPANY NEWS AND INFORMATION * * To become a member, simply access the Starwood website, at www.starwood.com. Once you reach the home page, simply click on "Company News", enter your e-mail address, and click "Subscribe".


Contact:

Media Contact:
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Mark Ricci, Manager, 914-640-8496
[email protected]
or
For additional information, please contact:
Hwee Peng Yeo, (65) 6335 4837
Fax: (65) 6335 4820
[email protected]


Source: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

baglady

Has anyone stayed at the new Sheraton in Xiamen (China)? I am looking for general bed comfort, any info on suites, and hotel ameneties. Thanks, in advance.

yyliu88

hi, the hotel is too new~~ I think it should be up to SPG standard, but I ' ve never stayed there.

Crowne Plaza provides very good service, sheraton should do better in order to compete with CP because they are the only two major international chains in the town.

Skillet

Sheraton certainly is a shiny gold building - I haven't found anyone who likes its external appearance. I've never even been inside. So far, I have stayed at the Mandarin (it's NOT a Mandarin Oriental), Marco Polo, Sofitel, and Best Western (a bit different than your standard roadside BW) in Xiamen and I have settled on the Sofitel as being best.

I'd appreciate it if anyone could make a comparison between the new Sheraton and the Sofitel.

-Skillet

baglady

I've been staying at the Crowne Plaza the last two years and love the service, I just don't love the bed. The Sheraton was open, barely, on my last stay but I opted to stay at the CP again because it appeared hardly anything was open (other than the rooms and front desk). I read on the site that the pool and fitness facility is still not open, though they have a makeshift fitness room open.

The building is indeed, um, gold and does stand out. I may stay a night just to check it out and will post afterward.

Thanks!

tailfirst

For those of you going to Xiamen China I just stayed at the Sheraton here.

The service is excellent.
The hotel is brand new and the rooms are very very nice.
The breafast is extraordinary.

The hotel is in a soft launch stage so swimming pool and fitness along with excutive lounge not opened as of yet so I can't comment.

The hotel is a 20 minute taxi trip to ocean side but it is only a few minutes walk to the new Walmart Plaza. Many in Xiamen.

Cheers

baglady

Thanks for the update! I did go and check it out a few days ago and had a delicious lunch there. The hotel is beautiful. Glad to hear the service is good as well. I'm planning on staying there on my next trip in a couple of months when the hotel should have the executive lounge open.

I opted not to stay there last week since everything was not fully functional but look forward to the stay there and the bed - I can't take the Xiamen Crowne Plaza beds anymore - even when they add a topper to it.

guybaxy

Just checked into this property, booked two rooms - one with 4,000 pts and the other for RMB778++, we got upgraded to suites for both rooms!!!

Executive club very nice, staff very friendly - almost over the top, suites amazing includes dvd player plazma tvs, huge bathroom with rainshower, huge wardrobe etc, sep guest toilet, however, airconditioning very noisy though, we had to turn it off and leave it going ion the other room.

IluvSQ

Just to update, I stayed there last week.
Good service, nice rooms, Platinum upgrade to 2 room suite plus access to
Club Lounge with very nice breakfast and evening cocktails.

I got the impression that not too many Plats stay there - many staff were very
impressed by that status - several commented on it, and one employee actually
asked my wife how I got that level!

KGO

Was there with my wife and son a few weeks ago. Similar upgrade and excellent service in the lounge.

baglady

I just finished my stay there yesterday (I stay a few times a year). We had a few issues; where in the past everything has been pretty flawless. Still a good stay and overall a great property. It's not plat heavy, but I've stayed there a few times when there are other plats there. I've never had an issue finding a table in the lounge, but it's not empty either.

dabbagmm

I have ab upcoming stay in Xiamen later in March and I want to know how does the Sheraton stand? how does it compare to Marco Polo and Sofitel?

imz14u

Visited the Marco Polo during my visit to Xiamen; its pretty dated and bet the rooms aren’t great either. General area is nice with views over looking a lake with a row of cafés and restaurants right beside the hotel. Did not visit the Sofitel but understand that Pan Pacific runs it now.

Stayed at the Sheraton for 2 nights in April, was upgraded to an exec floor deluxe room with full lounge access and complimentary internet. Service in the lounge was great with a decent western breakfast selection, compared to the awful breakfast offered on the second floor venue packed with messy guests and un-attentive station cooks or assistants whom don’t bother re-arranging the displays at all. The lounge would be the only place in the hotel to get a decent breakfast, I would have been very sore if I had to eat at the canteen on the second floor as I opted and paid for a breakfast inclusive rate.

Exec lounge had a happy hour from 5pm to 730pm, offering okay finger food and a good selection of alcohol and wines. Point worth mentioning, ordered a café latte and a cappuccino on separate occasions, both were just regular very week coffee with milk & some foam or a lot of foam with chocolate powder. Some one needs to teach them how to make a decent cup of coffee.

Location is good, views not comparable to other hotels with sea facing locations on the island of Xiamen. Hard to miss the gold glass façade of the hotel, it has above average contemporary looking rooms with clean large shower cubicles. Sound insulation between rooms were good but the doors or seals has got to be worked on; came back one night walking past a room next to mine, heard moans and groans, walked on, closed my door, past my bathroom, heard nothing more.

Service was average in general but the staffs at the lounge and reception were very attentive and exceed expectations. Expect crowds during check in and out, smallish lobby makes experience chaotic.

asian_journeyman

Quick update from a recent stay at this hotel a few days ago

Plat upgrade to a Junior suite - which to be honest, was pretty big. Had all I needed.
Coffee percolator
Fax Machine
Lots of wine glasses
Nicely furnished sitting room
Large walk in wardrobe
Bathtub with a view
Fast wifi

Lounge was ok only - decent sized but the finger food was mediocre compared to other Asian Starwood lounges

Breakfast buffet - does the job. Good range of stuff but taste was very much mediocre. Breakfast buffet is free for plats in addition to the 500 points

Location - I liked it. Very well located for my work purposes and only about RMB$30 by taxi to the airport

Best thing about the hotel is the room which is very nicely laid out and has everything you could think of. Downside is the lounge is average and there isn't much of a view. I would not hesitate to recommend this hotel or stay here again

Zach1213

I have been making many trips to Xiamen over the last 1.5 years and have always stayed in the Sheraton, as I did on my first trips to Xiamen in 2008. Physically, not much has changed since then, which is a good thing. It is kept up well.

The dinner buffet has gone downhill though. It used to be better for less money...but it seems selection and quality have gone down while price has gone up.

I dislike the pool area because it is also a health club open to outsiders, and they seem to get priority. After a week of hard work, I decided to lounge by the pool on a hot Saturday afternoon and was asked to leave because I wasn't swimming laps like the (local) customers were.

Lounge is nice with a decent selection of food and drink. Not great, but quite nice, and the people are friendly. Breakfast there is good, but I prefer breakfast at the restaurant so I often just go down there instead.

I like the location because I work by the airport, and this hotel is only halfway across the island, unlike many of the other nice hotels. There are some decent restaurants around the area, and I like to walk out the front door and head straight down the street about a block to the convenience store (it has a red awning, I believe) to grab some cheap Tsingtao if the lounge is closed and I don't feel like paying the hotel bar prices.