Starwood adds five-star hotel to Ballymore's Snowhill scheme

Ballymore confirmed this week that US operator Starwood Hotels & Resorts has entered into an agreement to open a new 198-bedroom Westin Hotel &Spa at Ballymore's Snowhill scheme. The facility will give Birmingham its first five star hotel. The hotel, which is due to open in early 2010, will form part of Phase III of the development, where Ballymore commenced construction last August. The property will occupy a landmark 23-storey tower overlooking St Chad's Cathedral.

The 1 million sq ft (93,000 m2) Snowhill development is one of the most important and largest redevelopment projects underway in Birmingham. Once completed, it will create a new city centre business district, boasting Birmingham's tallest residential tower, two office buildings comprising nearly 600,000 sq ft of prime commercial space, restaurants, bars and quality retail arranged around new open public spaces.

'We are delighted to be working with a world-class operator of Starwood's calibre to create a new five star hotel and spa at Snowhill. Their experience and track record in the luxury end of the market is exceptional and this project will further add to Birmingham's growing status as a global city', Ballymore director, Jonathan Haigh said.

DTZ and Berwin Leighton Paisners acted for Ballymore and CMS Cameron McKenna for Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts is one of the world's largest hotel and leisure companies, operating under Westin and a number of other internationally-renowned brands including St Regis, W Hotels, Luxury Collection, Sheraton and Le Meridien. The group currently operates over 890 hotels worldwide, with more than 266,000 rooms in over 100 countries.