American hotel chain Starwood & Resorts will officially bring its Sheraton brand to Romania, after signing a franchise contract with the Grand Plaza Hotel in Bucharest, the company announced.

The Grand Plaza Hotel in Bucharest, located in Piata Romana, one of the Romanian capital’s central locations, has been managed by Howard Johnson since 2004.

Hotel owners will reconvert the 270 rooms to Sheraton standards. The hotel also has two restaurants, a bar and a lounge.

Initially a five-star hotel, Howard Johnson Grand Plaza gave up on one star, in 2013, to be able to attract pharma conventions, Romanian media reported.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts is one of the largest hotel and leisure companies in the world, with more than 1,200 properties in 100 countries and 181,400 employees at its owned and managed properties. It previously announced plans to enter the Romanian market with a unit in Cluj- Napoca.

Tatika Investment, a Cyprus-based firm allegedly controlled by Romanian businessmen Gabriel Popoviciu and Radu Dimofte, owns the Grand Plaza Hotel in Bucharest. Before the deal with Howard Johnson, the hotel used to be called Hotel Dorobanti.

Tatika Investments also owns the Ramada Parc and Ramada Plaza hotels in Bucharest.

editor@romania-insider.com