Big resorts developer puts down a big bet on the Dutch Antilles.
Barely a week after breaking ground on a new Westin in St. Maartens, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has signed a letter of intent to build the Westin Curacao Resort & Casino, a 350-room luxury hotel on the island that houses the capital of the Netherlands Antilles.
Starwood is expected to operate the property, and it will reportedly invest a small amount of debt in the roughly $100 million construction of the project, which should be completed by 2008. The Dutch Antilles pension fund and the local government together are providing an additional $25 million and a long-term ground lease for the project.
The resort is a joint venture between Curacao-based Halabi Real Estate and Westwood Capital, a New York-based concern. They are developing the project under the name JanThiel Resort Development, after the site on JanThielBay in the southern tip of Curacao where the hotel is to be located.
The new hotel--and its 15,000-square-foot Starwood-branded spa--should command top rates for the island, around $400 per night in high season today. But that will rise as air traffic heats up.
External Source - For the complete article click here
Source - Forbes
Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
