Starwood make landmark debuts in EAME with Aloft, W and The Luxury Collection

150 150 Daniel Fountain
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After debuting the W brand in Spain last year with W Barcelona, the brand will continue to grow with new openings in high-profile destinations such as London, St. Petersburg, Paris, Milan and Amman.Adding to this, Aloft Hotels, which is the new, design-led, mid-market brand inspired by W, is set to make its European debut this autumn with the Aloft Brussels Schumann opening in Belgium. This hotel comes quickly after the brand’s launch in the Middle East last year, with the 408-room Aloft Abu Dhabi.

In Africa, Starwood is scheduled to open the new Le Méridien Oran Hotel & Convention Centre later this year, while simultaneously completing a number of renovations on some of its properties on the continent which forms part of its overall brand transformation efforts. The company also aims to expand its presence of its Four Points by Sheraton brand in Africa this year, with openings in Lagos, Nigeria and in Tripoli, Libya.

As reported by HotelDesigns, The Luxury Collection made its debut in the Middle East with the conversion of the Grosvenor House Hotel in Dubai. The brand will continue to grow this summer when The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort, opens in Costa Navarino, Greece in June. This is located on the southwest coast of the Peloponnese in Greece where Starwood will also open a Westin Resort. The next five years will also see the opening of five new hotels, as part of the St. Regis brand, open in the Middle East and the Indian Ocean in locations such as Mauritius, Cairo, Doha and two in Abu Dhabi.

Daniel Fountain / 14.03.2010

Editor, Hotel Designs

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Work highlights: Sienna joined Forum Events & Media Group while studying Communications and Media, starting in the sales team where she managed and helped launch the first the PA Life Leading Venues of London SHOWCASE, where she built relationships with luxury venues across the capital. Drawn to the stories behind these spaces, she naturally transitioned into the editorial team, creating social media and editorial content. Upon graduating in June 2026, she is excited to be joining as Assistant Editor for Hotel Designs and SPACE.

Fun fact: When not working, Jess can usually be found tending to her kitchen garden in the Sussex countryside or foraging for herbs in the nearby woods. A keen grower, she recently studied a RHS Level 2 Diploma in the Principles of Horticulture during her spare time.

Work highlights: Jess joined SPACE magazine in 2022 and has since progressed from Assistant Editor to Editor. During this time, she has worked across many aspects of the publication – from shaping editorial strategy and overseeing operations to contributing to art direction and representing the brand on stage at industry events including Surface Design Show and WOW!house.

Alongside her role at SPACE, Jess has built a creative career spanning the arts, culture, design and travel sectors. Prior to joining the magazine, she spent more than a decade in the commercial art industry, in artist liaison, gallery management, and curating collections for the hospitality sector across hotels and cruise ships. During this time, she also worked on freelance projects as a writer, photographer, and creative content producer.
 
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