Sheraton to polish its offer

Starwood Hotels & Resorts, a network that includes hotel brands such as Sheraton, Westin and Le Méridien, announced it will spend €2 (zł.7.6) million by the end of this year and additional €2 million next year to improve its Sheraton hotels and refresh the Sheraton brand.

According to Thomas Schön, regional director of Starwood in Poland, Sheraton hotels in Warsaw and Kraków will have their lobbies expanded. In line with the firm's development strategy, all lobbies in Sheraton hotels in Poland will have a place where a guest can get free internet access over a cup of coffee.

In July 2008, Sheraton opened a hotel in Sopot. Next year it will be expanded with a conference center and spa.

"The success of Sheraton in Sopot exceeded our expectations. My goal is to continue expansion of the network in Poland to leisure destinations such as Mikołajki or Zakopane," said Schön.

Sheraton is also considering new locations for its properties in Wrocław, Łódź and Katowice, but when asked by Lokale Immobilia for more details on these plans, Mr. Schön was reluctant to reveal specifics. He also didn't want to comment on press reports about launching a Sheraton property in Jurata.

Asked by Lokale Immobilia about preparations for Euro 2012, Mr. Schön revealed that UEFA officials recently visited Sheraton hotels in Warsaw and Poznań.

"It is an enormous opportunity for us. We will use the experience of our Sheraton hotel in Salzburg, which hosted UEFA officials during Euro 2008 inAustria and Switzerland," explained the manager.

Other Starwood projects in the CEE region include Sheraton hotels in Prague, Bratislava, Rostov and Sochi, which are all expected to be completed before 2011.

With hotels in Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań and Sopot, Sheraton boasts a total of 950 guest rooms in Poland.