WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. HOT and Ripplewood Holdings L.L.C. announced today an agreement whereby Starwood has been appointed the major lodging and attractions operator and manager of the Phoenix Seagaia resort, one of the most extensive resort complexes in Japan. Starwood was selected after Ripplewood Holdings had reviewed several major global hotel companies.

The Phoenix Seagaia resort is situated amidst a historic 750-acre pine forest that extends over seven miles along the Pacific Ocean coast, just outside the city of Miyazaki on the southern island of Kyushu, Japan. Renowned for its warm, sunny climate, the resort is only six miles from Miyazaki International Airport and can be easily accessed from almost all major cities in Japan.

This fully integrated resort meets the needs of both the leisure and business traveler including: Guest Accommodations (with several hotels and cottages providing 1,100 rooms); Convention Facilities (5,000 seat international convention center); and, Golf, Sports & Entertainment Facilities (99 championship holes of golf, tennis courts, bowling, world's largest indoor water park, retail center).

"We firmly believe our relationship with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, one of the largest hotel companies in the world with outstanding experience in operating large resort and convention properties, will reposition the Phoenix Seagaia resort as one of the most successful international golf resorts in Japan and Asia Pacific," stated Michael F. Glennie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Phoenix Seagaia Resort Companies. "More vacation and leisure time is the number one purchase objective of Japanese consumers as reflected in several recent polls. I am looking forward with enthusiasm to assembling an outstanding portfolio of leisure and travel properties to fulfill that demand," added Glennie.

"We are very pleased to grow our resort collection with such a premier complex like the Phoenix Seagaia Resort," said Miguel Ko, President Asia Pacific, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. "We are certainly proud to have been selected to manage the largest integrated golf and resort complex in Japan and to be working in partnership with Ripplewood. We strongly believe that the combination of the excellent physical product and Starwood's vast experience with large resort operations, coupled with our international sales and marketing network, will enable the Sheraton resorts and leisure operations in the complex to command a dominant position in the market," added Ko.

The Phoenix Seagaia Resort complex consists of the following facilities:

Guest Accommodations

  • - Sheraton Grande Ocean Resort - 753 rooms in an impressive steel, marble and glass tower adjacent to the seaside golf courses. The 154-meters 45-story Sheraton Grande, with its triangular prism-shaped design, is a symbol of Miyazaki. The hotel is designed to provide superb views of the Pacific Ocean from all the guest rooms.
  • Sheraton Phoenix Golf Resort - 296 spacious deluxe rooms and an international conference hall. Located amid a sea of trees on the magnificent Hitotsuba coast, this hotel has a calming atmosphere with a spectacular view of the pine forests below.
  • Cottage Himuka - 16 cottages offering relaxing privacy amid a forest of greenery. There are various types of cottages suitable for different guest needs.
  • The Luxze Hitotsuba - luxury condominium-type facility built with the needs of longer-stay guests in mind. The guest rooms are fully equipped with kitchens and utilities.
  • Hotel Kitago Phoenix - An all-round health resort which maximizes the beautiful natural surroundings only to be found inland in the village of Kitago.

Convention Facilities

  • Convention Center - located in the center of the resort complex and surrounded by the natural beauty of Japan's Hitotsuba Coast in Miyazaki, the Convention Center features a variety of conference rooms and banquet halls for up to 5,000 people with high tech audiovisual systems and simultaneous interpretation system capability. It is one of the largest convention facilities of its kind in Japan.
  • Golf, Sports & Entertainment Facilities
  • 27 - hole Phoenix Country Club(1) - a renowned golf course, known as the home of Dunlop Phoenix Tournament and recognized as one of the world's top 100 golf courses.
  • 18-hole Tom Watson Golf Course(1) - originally designed by Watson who is well-versed in the major courses of the world, this is a strategically challenging course of 18 holes, 7,012 yards, par 72.
  • Phoenix Kogen Country Club(1) - a 36-hole par 144, hillside course skillfully making the most of the natural dynamic ground configuration of a hill which is 656 feet above sea level at Takaoka Town, west of Miyazaki City.
  • Kitago Phoenix Country Club(1) - an 18-hole golf course that harmonizes golf and the magnificent natural surroundings on the basis of the principle of "ecological harmony."
  • Ocean Dome - the world's largest all-weather indoor water park, as certified by the Guinness Book of Records. There are pools of all sizes, thrilling attractions, restaurants and spectacular forms of entertainment.
  • Paradise Garden - located between Ocean Dome and Sheraton Grande Ocean Golf Resort, it boasts both gourmet restaurants and fast food cafes, a state-of-the-art amusement center, and an orchid garden with rare and delicate orchids from around the world.
  • Tennis Club - 16 outdoor courts and 4 indoor courts. Each court has a high-performance "omnicoat" surface to provide comfortable base for active legs.
  • Phoenix Bowling - 36 lanes for bowling, plus billiards, table tennis and arcade games. (1) to be managed by Troon Golf, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based luxury golf course operator).

The Phoenix Seagaia Resort will now join Starwood's top quality resort golf collection, including nine Starwood properties that recently made Conde Nast Traveler's Sixth Annual Top 50 Golf Resorts, including The Manele Bay Hotel (Lana'i, Hawaii); The Orchid at Mauna Lani (Big Island, Hawaii); The Lodge at Koele (Lana'i, Hawaii); Princeville Resort (Kauai, Hawaii); Kapalua Bay Hotel (Maui, Hawaii); The Phoenician (Scottsdale, Arizona); The Westin La Paloma (Tucson, Arizona); The Westin La Cantera Resort (San Antonio, Texas); The Westin Regina Golf & Beach Resort (Los Cabos, Mexico). All of these resorts are outstanding properties featuring spectacular golf courses, superior accommodations and excellent quality of service.

Sheraton, the largest brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., has more than 375 hotels in 67 countries. Guests at the Sheraton hotels and other Starwood properties can take advantage of the Starwood Preferred Guest program, the award-winning frequent guest program offering the simplest way to earn free nights and free flights. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 750 properties in more than 80 countries and 110,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchiser of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwood.com.

Please contact Starwood's new, toll-free media hotline at (866) 4-STAR-PR (866-478-2777) for photography or additional information.