Westin Hotels and Resorts has entered the Indonesian market with the opening of the 418-room Westin Surabaya, the first of two hotels it plans to build in the country.
Westin has opened 19 hotels in the past 10 months as part of a global expansion plan for 60 new hotels over five years. The company operates more than 90 hotels and resorts in 22 countries.
Westin will increase its presence in Indonesia in 1998 when it opens a 500-room hotel in Jakarta, now being built at a cost of more than US$200 million.
Both the Surabaya and Jakarta hotels are owned by P T Ramasari Surya Persada and will be managed by the American-based hotel chain.
Surabaya, an industrial city in East Java with a population of 5.6 million, has become an increasingly important business centre, with both a port and international airport. The 2.4-hectare Westin site is in the centre of the city.
It includes 31 serviced apartments and 19 suites as well as two executive club floors, conference, dining, sport and retail facilities.
Conference amenities include the 1,500-seat Royal Ballroom. Six smaller rooms can accommodate meetings of 20 to 150.