Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has announced a letter of intent to develop a new casino resort on Jan Thiel Bay, on the southern tip of the island of Curacao. The luxury 350-room hotel project is a joint venture between the New York-based Westwood Capital LLC and a local company, Halabi Real Estate N.V. The complex should be completed by 2008 at a cost of around US$100 million.

Last month Hyatt started construction on a similar sized resort and there is also a smaller Renaissance project. Willemstadt, the capital of the Netherlands Antilles, is on Curacao and the island is seeking to attract more US tourists. The government is supporting the Starwood development to the tune of US$25 million in debt financing and a long-term ground lease. At present the island caters for mostly South American, British and Dutch tourists, unlike the much busier Aruba.

The Jan Thiel development will have a 15,000 sq ft casino and a Starwood spa. Last weekend Continental Airlines started a weekly Saturday flight to Curacao from Newark, competition for American Airline’s dominance in the Antilles. Unlike Aruba, the Curacao development will have no timeshare condos or be of high-rise construction. (E-12.19.05)

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