INTERNATIONAL hotel and leisure company Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is eyeing Cebu as a possible location for its brands other than Sheraton.
“Cebu is a hub, and with the expansion of the airport, it’s going to get busier. Everyone wants to be here. Cebu is the main target,” said Charlie Dang, Starwood regional vice president for Southeast Asia.
Aside from Sheraton, Starwood’s brands are St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W, Westin, Le Méridien, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft, Element, and Tribute Portfolio.
Starwood and partner Apple One Mactan, Inc. held last Friday the groundbreaking ceremony for the proposed P4-billion Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort and Residences.
Targeted to open in early 2019, it will be the first branded resort residential development in Southeast Asia. It will have a total of 250 rooms and suites.
Cyndy Tan Jarabata, president of Tajara Leisure and Hospitality Group, said the five-hectare development will include four residential buildings. Tajara is Apple One Mactan’s marketing arm.
Before the residential project is undertaken, however, developers will complete the resort area first.
“We want to make sure that by the time we have our residential units, all amenities are in place,” said Jarabata.
Amenities include a spa, fitness gym, lagoon swimming pools, and function spaces.
For those who are looking for a more permanent stay at the Sheraton, they can opt to buy units in the development’s residential component, the Residences.
They can choose between the high-rise tower residence, or the more private, less-dense the Courtyards.
The unit types will range from one to three bedroom units. Unit sizes range from 64 to 140 square meters for the one and two-bedroom unit types, at P160,000 to P180,000 per square meter.
“We’re offering here the chance to experience living in a resort. We don’t want our residents to look at the resort and wish they were staying there instead,” Jarabata said.
Aside from access to resort facilities and services, residential amenities include meeting rooms and recreational facilities.