Asia Pacific Newsletter May 2007 Edition

The Westin Guangzhou opened this month. The 448-room property is located in the city’s Tian He business district close to the CITIC Plaza and the Guangzhou East railway station, the arrival point for trains from Hong Kong. The property features 7 meeting rooms with 13,000 sqf (1208 sqm) of event space accommodating from 10 to 670 attendees. Dining venues include five restaurants offering Latin American, International, Italian, and Chinese cuisines. Hong Mian, the Cantonese restaurant has 10 private dining rooms.
Additional amenities include a 24-hour business center, wireless Internet connection throughout the hotel and the WESTINWORKOUT Powered by Reebok Gym, which has sauna, indoor and outdoor swimming pool and spa treatments.
Guangzhou is approximately 110 miles/182 kilometers from Hong Kong and is home to almost 30% of the world’s Fortune 500 companies. In addition to business, the areas attractions include ranging from thousand-year-old temples, natural retreats like Mount Baiyun Scenic Belt and Conghua Hot Spring.

Starwood, the umbrella company for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, Westin Hotels & Resorts, W Hotels, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, The Luxury Collection, Le Méridien, Four Points by Sheraton and the new aloft hotels brand, continues to open properties in the Asia Pacific region. In the next few years Starwood openings will include the St. Regis Lhasa located in Tibet at the Roof of the World. The hotel will open in 2010 and have 169-guest rooms; The Sheraton Bangalore Hotel will open in 2009 with 250 rooms; The St. Regis Hotel & Residences Jakarta will open in 2011. The hotel will have 170 guest-rooms and 284 residential units; Four Points by Sheraton Dongbao is scheduled to open in China in 2009 and will have 310 guest rooms; The Westin Xian is targeting 2010 for its opening. The property will have 296 guest rooms and be part of the Great Tang All day Mall, which is expected to become the longest cultural and commercial pedestrian mall in the world. 

New Caledonia, the third largest island in the Pacific Region after Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, is enticing meeting planners with special perks for incentive and meeting groups. The New Caledonia Tourism South’s MICE Incentive Scheme, offers planners various freebies based upon the number of delegates in the group and the number of room nights used. Planners can chose from events such as an airport welcome with floral garlands or from a range of promotional items and gifts.

Actually even without the extra incentive, New Caledonia sounds pretty enticing. The land is a fragment of an ancient continent that drifted away some 250 million years ago. Its flora and fauna evolved in isolation and are now both abundant and unique with 3,500 recorded species of plants, three quarters of which occur only there and 4,300 species of land animals, 1,000 species of fish and 6,500 species of marine invertebrates. New Caledonia is also known to have some of the best white sand beaches in the Pacific. The country is surrounded by a coral reef and also has the largest lagoon in the world.
New Caledonia is a 2 1/2 hours plane ride from Sydney. For more information on meetings and incentive options in New Caledonia, contact the New Caledonia Tourism South office in Sydney.

E-mail: info-syd@nctps.com

The Regent Beijing opened last month. The new, 500-room property is situated in the commercial area of the city in the midst of shopping centers and other luxury hotels. It is also in close proximity to heritage sites like the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Guestrooms are equipped with large plasma screen TVs, DVD players and complimentary high-speed Internet access. Many of the guest rooms have panoramic views of the Forbidden City.
Event facilities include the 625 sqm (6,727 sqf) Regent Ballroom and seven multi-function rooms. Dining venues range from the Daccapo serving contemporary Italian, Café 99 for all day dining, Li Jing Xuan the Cantonese restaurant with ten private dining rooms, to the Crescent Lounge. The hotel spa has ten private treatment rooms, a fitness center and an indoor swimming pool.

The Mansion Hotel at Werribee Park in Australia changed its name to the Sofitel Mansion & Spa earlier this year. With the new name came an upgrade and the opening of the first LeSpa concept spa in Australia. The boutique property was opened in 2000 behind the original 1870’s mansion.

With 91 deluxe guest rooms, the Sofitel offers a unique bucolic setting for events in the Melbourne, Victoria area. Each guest room is outfitted with the Sofitel My Bed, LCD TV screens, Roger&Gallet amenities and a range of new soft furnishings. Meeting facilities include 10 rooms accommodating from 10 to 160 attendees. In addition, the property is surrounded by Victoria's greatest tourism treasures including the historic Chirnside Mansion with its restored farm buildings and 10 hectares of formal Guilfoyle-style gardens, the Victorian State Rose Garden, Werribee Open Range Zoo, the National Equestrian Centre, Polo Academy and the Shadowfax Winery & Vineyard. 
Dining is a special treat here – as it is in all of Melbourne. Joseph’s Restaurant with the formal gardens of Werribee Park in the background offers a beautiful setting for breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon tea.

LeSpa has eight new spa treatment rooms, a  Lancôme beauty studio and a VIP treatment suite with access to a private hammam (Turkish steam room).

E-mail: reservations@mansiongroup.com.au

Web site: http://www.mansionhotel.com.au