ArabellaSheraton expands portfolio in Switzerland
Cairo, Egypt, September 2005 - ArabellaSheraton Hotelmanagement GmbH recently signed a franchise contract for the Group's seventh hotel in Switzerland. Four Points Sihlcity is the first hotel to operate under the Four Points Hotels brand in Switzerland and will be opening in the Spring of 2007 in Sihlcity, a new entertainment and business district in Zurich. The hotel will be operated by the Hamburg company, RIMC International Hotel Resort Management and Consulting GmbH (RIMC).
The hotel, to be marketed by the ArabellaSheraton Group under the terms of the franchise agreement, will boast 132 rooms, conference and meeting facilities, a restaurant and bar, as well as direct access to a Fitness and Wellness Center, some 4000 square meters in size. The Four Points Sihlcity is being designed by the well known Swiss architect, Theo Hotz.
With its location close to the city center, just a few minutes away from the main station, the Four Points Sihlcity is a welcome addition to the accommodation on offer in Zurich's CBD. It will feature two large and four smaller conference and meeting rooms which can be hired by guests or non-resident clients.
Some areas of the hotel, like the lobby and restaurant, will be located in the renovated part of the building, which used to house a paper factory. Others, like the bar, lounge and most guest rooms are being newly built. 119 of the 132 rooms are classified as standard rooms, with the rest as ten suites and three junior suites. Gert Prantner, shareholder and Director of RIMC is convinced of the location's benefits: on the one hand Sihlcity offers guests a wide range of complementary services and facilities, which in turn gives great scope for profitable joint marketing activities amongst individual service and product providers. To reflect the district's heritage, plans are being drawn up on ways to incorporate the history of the former Sihl paper factory into the new Four Points Sihlcity by ArabellaSheraton.
After the ArabellaSheraton Neues Schloss, with 60 guest rooms, the Four Points Sihlcity becomes the second ArabellaSheraton Group hotel in Zurich. Thomas Willms, Managing Director of ArabellaSheraton Hotelmanagement GmbH, is delighted with the expansion in Zurich: "With RIMC we have found an excellent partner for this exciting and modern hotel project. The Four Points Sihlcity is the first hotel to operate under the Four Points Hotels by ArabellaSheraton brand in Switzerland. As the ArabellaSheraton Group's seventh Swiss property it is an ideal addition to our existing hotel portfolio."
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About ArabellaSheraton Hotel Group
ArabellaSheraton Hotel Group"Four Points Hotels" is one of three brands of ArabellaSheraton Hotelmanagment GmbH and is positioned in the three to four star market sector. The brand is primarily aimed at business travelers and conference guests, as well as city break leisure travelers, who are seeking an upmarket atmosphere at reasonable prices. At the moment there are 14 Four Point Hotels in Europe, of which six are run by ArabellaSheraton Hotelmanagement GmbH.
ArabellaSheraton Hotelmanagement GmbH is a joint venture company between Schoerghuber Corporate Group and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Today, the ArabellaSheraton Group comprises 32 Hotels in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Majorca and South Africa. Three hotels in Davos, the "Seehof", "Waldhuus" and "Derby; along with the "Vitznauerhof" in Vitznau on Lake Lucerne and the "Neues Schloss" in Zurich, all operating under the ArabellaSheraton Hotels and Resorts brand, belong to the Group. ArabellaSheraton Hotelmanagement GmbH also has two franchise operations in Switzerland; the Luxury Collection Hotel "President Wilson" in Geneva and now the Four Points Sihlcity.
RIMC
RIMC is one of the leading hotel operations and consulting organizations in Germany. It operates hotels on behalf of several chains including Golden Tulip, Choice, Starwood and Best Western, in Berlin, Potsdam, Lbeck, and Munich amongst others. In Austria it will run the Four Points by ArabellaSheraton Panoramahaus Dornbirn, opening in September 2005. A further hotel in Switzerland is currently being planned for Basel (Raurica Nova)
ArabellaSheraton Hotelmanagement GmbH
ArabellaSheraton Hotelmanagement GmbH, Public Relations, Arabellastr. 13, D-81925 Mnchen, Ulrike Birner/Maria Reischl/Annika Brandenburger, Tel. +49/89/9264-9520, Fax -9519, ulrike.birner@arabellasheraton.com; www.arabellasheraton.com, www.starwoodhotels.com/pressclub; www.starwoodhotels.com
For more iformaiton, please contact:
Maha Saad
Area Director of Public Relations - Africa & Middle East
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Tel: +202 748 2301
Fax: +202 748 2292
Email: maha.saad@starwoodhotels.com
Eman Mekky
Area Public Relations Coordinator- Africa & Middle East
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Tel: +202 748 2301
Fax: +202 748 2292
Email: eman.mekky@starwoodhotels.com
© Press Release 2005
