Starwood Inks Franchise Agreement For Hsinchu Hotel

Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Grace Construction Group have signed a franchise agreement to operate a hotel in Hsinchu County, Taiwan.

The newly built 359-room Sheraton Hsinchu Hotel is scheduled to open in 2010.

"With a consistent high level of economic growth over the past few years which is forecast to continue, Taiwan offers good opportunities for both business and leisure travel markets. Starwood currently operates three hotels in Taiwan with another Sheraton Resort under construction in Yilan County" commented Miguel Ko, President, Asia Pacific Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Hsinchu, the oldest city in northern Taiwan, is an important harbor city for both transportation and trading between northern Taiwan and Mainland China. As a key cultural and science city, rich natural sights, high tech industrial focus and several major universities, it is a popular destination for engineering and academic minds. The Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park was established to create a center for the development of high-tech industries in Taiwan and has been dubbed the 'Asian Silicon Valley'. The county also offers an abundance of lakes, parks and mountain ranges, making it a popular leisure destination too.

Sheraton Hsinchu Hotel will be located in Chu Bei city of Hsinchu County. Chu Bei is designated as the new financial district and is about 15 minutes' drive away from the Hsinchu Science Park, one of the world's most significant areas for semiconductor manufacturing. The hotel will be located within close proximity to the Bullet Train Terminal, which commenced operations in late 2006 and connects Hsinchu with Taipei. With the completion of the bullet train service, travel time between Hsinchu and Taipei city has been greatly reduced to only 19 minutes.

Sheraton Hsinchu Hotel's facilities will include 359 guestrooms, 3 restaurants, 1 lobby lounge, over 20,000 square feet of meeting space, a spa and an indoor swimming pool. The hotel will be adjacent to a retail mall and office blocks which are also developed by Grace Construction Group.