Starwood Hotels & Resorts has announced that it will expand its luxury portfolio in Latin America and the Caribbean through a series of new hotel launches.

Starwood will open high-end properties under its St Regis, W Hotels and The Luxury Collection brands – taking the total of luxury properties under its operation in Latin America and the Caribbean from 19 to 22 by 2017.

Solaz, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Los Cabos – located at the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula – will be in full operation mode by 2017 with 18 branded residences and 131 guestrooms. In addition to a number of dining venues and bars, the mixed-use property will offer a 1,200sq ft (111sq m) fitness centre, tennis courts, 10,000sq ft (929sq m) of meeting space and an 8,000sq ft (743sq m) spa – the details of which have not yet been released.

The Santa Maria, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Panama will mark the brand’s debut in the country by 2017. Complete with a Jack Nicklaus golf course, the Santa Maria Golf & Country Club, the hotel will have 180 bedrooms and will be located in Costa del Este. Other features of the property include two restaurants, a pool, a fitness centre and a spa.

W Hotels will also launch in Panama, with the opening of W Panama in 2017. Minutes away from the Zona Rosa neighbourhood, the hotel will offer 203 guestrooms, two signature restaurants, a nightclub, a pool deck, spa and an 8,400sq ft (780sq m) fitness facility.

“We continue to see increased demand for luxury accommodations across Latin America, which drove signings for us last year [2014] in markets like Mexico and Panama,” said Victor Vasquez, VP of development for Starwood Latin America and Caribbean. “At the same time, there are many opportunities to grow our speciality select brands in secondary cities, which is very important in the region as business travel rises domestically.”

On March 1 this year, the Las Alcobas hotel in Mexico City – designed by Yabu Pushelberg – joined Starwood’s Luxury Collection portfolio. This property is not to be confused with the other Las Alcobas Luxury Collection Hotel, which is opening on the revised date of August 31 2016, in Napa Valley, California. This Californian property is also being designed by Pushelberg.

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