Starwood to open 23 UAE hotels by end 2014

Starwood Hotels & Resorts is set to increase its UAE hotel portfolio to 23 hotels by the end of the year.

The group, which operates 14 hotels in Dubai alone, opened The St. Regis Abu Dhabi last week, taking its UAE tally to 22.

Before the year is out, Starwood will also make its debut in the emirate of Ajman with the opening of Ajman Saray, A Luxury Collection Resort.

“The property will be the company’s 23rd hotel in the UAE,” Guido de Wilde.

Further expansion will follow in 2014 with Starwood’s debut in Sharjah with the openings of Sheraton Sharjah and Four Points by Sheraton Sharjah.

“We will also be opening our newest addition to the Sheraton family in Dubai, the 660-room Sheraton Dubai Tower Sheikh Zayed Road,” added De Wilde.

Starwood currently operates 47 hotels in the Middle East and will open 11 new hotels between now and the end of 2014, including the four mentioned in the UAE.

The group has 31 signed hotels in the pipeline for the Middle East which will add nearly 10,000 rooms to the market over the next few years.