Starwood is to open its first China property under its "eco-wise" Element brand.
The new-build will open in Suzhou Science and Technology Town, an "eco-city adjacent to the commercial and administrative centre of the city's high-tech industrial development zone", in July 2016.
Element Suzhou, which will have 190 rooms, is the first hotel for the brand in the Asia-Pacific region.
The property will also come equipped with 10,764 square feet of meeting space, a business centre, a 24-hour gym, and an indoor heated swimming pool.
Qian Jin, president, Greater China, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, said: "We are delighted to introduce the Element brand in Asia Pacific with this hotel in China, our fastest growing and most dynamic travel market.
"Chinese travellers are open to, and seek out, innovative and affordable hotel brands, and Element's arrival not only completes Starwood's brand line-up, but also echoes the growing consciousness of sustainable development in China."
Starwood's Element brand launched in 2008 (see online news, April 2008), with a property in Lexington, Massachusetts, and has since grown to 19 hotels either open or under development.
Most of these are located in the US, including properties in Las Vegas, Miami, Houston and New York (see online news, November 2010), with a second hotel also set to open in Canada and one in Oman.
Graham Smith
