Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has signed an agreement with Century Park and Hotel Residences Ltd. to open a new Sheraton hotel in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city. Scheduled to open in 2018, Sheraton Kigali will mark Starwood’s entry into Rwanda and will be the company’s 50th hotel in Africa.
The 136-room hotel will offer easy access to the city center, key government offices, as well as the lush surroundings of Lake Nyarutarama and the Nyabarongo River wetlands. Sheraton Kigali will include 62 serviced apartments as well as an all-day dining venue, a specialty restaurant, and a lobby lounge.
“Starwood has a long history of being first movers in Africa and around the world, and our entry into Rwanda speaks to Sheraton’s strong, global brand recognition, and Starwood’s reputation as a leading hotel operator,” says Bart Carnahan, senior vice president of acquisition and development for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. “Our development strategy is focused on working with the right partners on the right deals in the right locations and this new hotel will strengthen our growing portfolio of properties on the continent.”
Currently, Starwood operates 37 hotels in 15 African countries, representing more than 10,000 rooms in Algeria, Cameroon, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Libya, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Seychelles, South Africa, Tunisia, and Uganda. By 2015, Starwood plans to open new hotels in Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Senegal and Mauritius.
