Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) has signed an agreement with Serka Turizm A.S. to open a new-build Sheraton hotel in Adana, Turkey. The new Sheraton Adana Hotel will mark the debut of Starwood in the city and further underscores the company’s rapid growth in this important market. Scheduled to open in 2013, the new Sheraton Adana Hotel will be ideally located on the bank of the River Seyhan in the centre of Adana in the southern region of Turkey. The opening of the Sheraton Adana Hotel is part of the company’s strategic expansion plan to open more than 65 Sheraton hotels around the world in the next three years.

According to Roeland Vos, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, “Reaching out to new frontiers is a focus of our expansion strategy, so we are delighted to partner with Serka Turizm A.S. as we debut our most iconic brand in the historical and cultural city of Adana. Starwood’s entrance into this thriving destination further underlines our commitment to continued growth in Turkey.”

Ideally located just 1.5 kilometres from the historic centre of Adana and only 4.5 kilometres from Adana airport, the Sheraton Adana Hotel will offer spectacular views over the River Seyhan and the old city. The hotel will comprise of 237 guest rooms, including 28 suites and serviced apartments. Sheraton Adana will offer an all-day dining restaurant, a specialty restaurant, a bar, a VIP lounge and a lobby lounge. All guest rooms will feature the brand’s signature all-white Sheraton Sweet Sleeper(R) bed, designed to meet AAA’s Five Diamond Award(R) criteria. The hotel will also boast more than 2,500 square metres of spa and fitness space, including Sheraton Fitness programmed by Core Performance, and an indoor and outdoor pool. For business travellers, the hotel will offer a fully-equipped business centre and over 3,000 square metres of ultra-modern meeting space, including two ballrooms and five meeting rooms. The hotel will also feature Sheraton Club rooms and Lounge and the brand’s signature Link@SheratonSM experienced with Microsoft, a unique communication hub delivering the technology modern guests expect and require while on the road.

Adali Holding, Co-Chairman, Serdal Adali, commented: “I would like to state that we are extremely proud to contribute to the development of our homestead Adana by introducing the most reputable and respected hotel operator, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and its successful Sheraton brand.”

The Sheraton Adana Hotel is proud to offer the Starwood Preferred Guest(R) (SPG) program, which made headlines when it launched in 1999 with a breakthrough policy of no blackout dates on Free Night Awards. SPG offers members the ability to redeem awards at more resorts, more luxury properties, more European hotels and more golf properties than any other hotel program.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts currently operates six hotels throughout Turkey including three in Istanbul - W Istanbul, Sheraton Istanbul Maslak Hotel and Sheraton Istanbul Atakoy Hotel. The company also operates the Sheraton Ankara Hotel & Convention Centre and Lugal, a Luxury Collection hotel in Ankara, as well as the Sheraton Cesme Hotel Resort and Spa. Other upcoming openings in Turkey include Le Méridien Istanbul Etiler, scheduled to open later this year, as well as the Sheraton Bursa Hotel and the Aloft Bursa in 2013.

Serka Tourism A.S., an affiliate of Adali Holding, was involved in the land acquisition, project development and construction of the project.

City.Mobi

Also in Turkey today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to Ankara.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

Ankara.mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.