Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide and Xinjiang Haotai Industry Development Company have announced an agreement whereby Starwood will manage the Sheraton Urumqi Hotel in China.

Scheduled to open in early 2007, the hotel will be located in a prime location in Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang Province, along a newly developed pedestrian walkway with a total built-up area of 2.2 million square feet dedicated to high-end international branded retail shops, entertainment and hotel uses.

The hotel will feature 410 rooms and close to 18,500 square feet of meeting and function space, three dining outlets, a health club and spa, an indoor swimming pool and retail shops.  The hotel will be the first internationally branded upscale hotel to open in Urumqi city.