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Posted at 12:20 p.m., Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Wailea chosen as location for first Baccarat hotel

Bloomberg News Service

Starwood Capital Group LLC has chosen Wailea, Maui, as the location for the first in a chain of luxury Baccarat Hotels and Resorts inspired by the 243-year-old French crystal manufacturer.

The first Baccarat hotel will open in Wailea in 2010, Starwood Capital said in a statement today. Other locations will follow in the U.S., Caribbean, Europe and Asia, the company said without giving more details. Starwood spokesman Tom Johnson declined to say how many hotels are planned.

Starwood Capital, headed by Barry Sternlicht, took over France's only profitable crystal maker from the Taittinger family in 2005 when he bought a majority stake in Societe du Louvre SA. Starwood Capital wants to transform Baccarat into a global luxury brand, company executives said in interviews last year.

Starwood Capital, a U.S. buyout firm that Sternlicht heads as chairman, faced opposition in January from Baccarat's minority investors who didn't support its plan to raise funds for expansion. The company had said it wants to have at least $7.49 million to add more shops and products.

The investment firm, based in Greenwich, Connecticut, is developing the "1" chain of luxury environmentally themed hotels. It's also part of a group bidding on Riviera Holdings Corp, a casino company.

Sternlicht established Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. in 1995 and resigned as its chairman 10 years later.