%20and%20residential%20tower%20(right)%20(2).JPG)
Starwood Hotels & Resorts will open a Westin in Birmingham city centre in early 2010, the city”s first five-star property.
The new 198-room hotel will be in the 1m sq ft (92,900sq ft) Snow Hill development, adjacent to the train station of the same name, in the heart of the business district and 10km (6m) from Birmingham International airport.
The Westin will feature 1,050sq m of meeting and convention space ” comprising a 370sq m ballroom and four smaller rooms ” as well as a business centre, gym, pool, two restaurants and bar.
”Birmingham has become one of the UK”s key cities for corporate, meetings and incentive business and there is strong demand for a brand like Westin to establish a presence in the region,” said Starwood Hotels & Resorts senior vice president and director of operations for north west Europe, Michael Wale.
Developer Ballymore Properties, is partnering Starwood on the project. Snow Hill will also include retail space, two 12-storey office blocks and a 44-storey residential tower.
There are 150 Westin hotels in 31 countries around the world, but there is only one other in the UK, in Ayrshire, Scotland.