TWO NEW FOUR POINTS by Sheraton properties and an Aloft hotel are to open in Saudi Arabia.
The three newcomers will take Starwood Hotels & Resort's Saudi portfolio to 13 properties, and forms part of the group's plan to double its presence - to 500 hotels - in the EMEA region by 2013.
First to open, in 2010, will be the 300-room Four Points by Sheraton Mall of Arabia in Jeddah, roughly midway between the city centre and the international airport. Facilities will include more than 3,000ft2 of function space. In the following year, the second will open in Dhahran, and a 225-room Aloft will come on line in Riyadh. It will be only the second Middle East property to carry the brand, the trail being blazed this year with the opening of Aloft Abu Dhabi.