BARCELONA, SPAIN— Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. will open its first W in Europe here in 2008 with a 475-room waterfront hotel . The W Barcelona is being developed by four of Spains leading real estate development consortia — FCC Construction S.A., COMSA, OHL S.A. and Sacresa— under a long-term concession agreement with the Port Authority of Barcelona. Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill, whose buildings include the Shiseido headquarters in Tokyo and the headquarters for Cartier and Christian Dior in Paris, will design the hotel. The W Barcelona will be located on the Nova Bocana (the “new entrance”) of the Port of Barcelona, which will “open” the citys historic center to the Mediterranean. The W Barcelona will anchor an area slated to be redeveloped with high-end retail, office and entertainment venues. “For more than five years we have searched for the perfect opportunity to launch W in Europe. Barcelona is one of the few cities in the world in which Starwood did not have a presence. The W Barcelona is the perfect entry for us,” said Starwood Chairman/CEO, Barry Sternlicht. .” “We look forward to introducing the European market to the brands unique style, which will translate very well in Barcelona, a city well known for its sophistication and beauty,” added Roeland Vos, Starwoods president of Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Sternlicht said he anticipates announcing several more W deals in Europe in the near future, citing London, Rome and Paris as possible sites. The W Seoul Walkerhill opens in July and the W Montreal in September. The W Maldives-Fesdhu, Ws first resort, is scheduled to open in 2005, followed by the W Dallas in 2006 and the W Fort Lauderdale in 2007. Currently there are 18 W Hotels brandwide in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle, Honolulu, Silicon Valley, Atlanta, San Diego, Sydney and Mexico City. Starwood’s presence in Spain includes The Westin Palace Madrid; the Hotel Alfonso XIII, A Westin Hotel in Seville; and the Mardavall Hotel and Spa in Palma de Mallorca (The Luxury Collection), and the soon-to-open Sheraton Bilbao. There are five additional Starwood hotels under construction in Spain, including the Hotel Marques de Riscal in the Rioja Wine Country.
