From left to right: Hwei Yee Tan, CEO, STC Property Management Sdn. Bhd., Eric Teng, CEO, Straits Developments Pte Ltd, Rajit Sukumaran, Managing Director, South East Asia and Korea, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Vivek Bhalla, Vice President, Operations, South East Asia and Korea, IHG Hotels & Resorts — Photo by IHG

IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world's leading hotel companies, today announced a landmark partnership with STC Property Management Sdn Bhd, the Developer of Straits City. The Master Plan development is by The Straits Trading Company Limited (SGX: S20.SI) and Malaysia Smelting Corporation Berhad.

The partnership will bring the first Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts to Penang, the flagship hotel for Straits City - a sustainable high-end mixed-use development located at the waterfront of Butterworth Penang. Envisioned as the Future City, the expansive development incorporates green technologies to promote a more sustainable living and spaces designed to encourage interaction, communication and creation.

Nestled within Straits City, the 343-room Crowne Plaza Penang Butterworth Straits City will offer sweeping views of the Straits of Penang, and a nostalgic Georgetown just over the horizon. Beyond the host of amenities and facilities that will cater to travellers of every disposition, the true strength of the property lies in its integration with Straits City.

The development is strategically located a mere five-minute drive to Penang Sentral, the northern region transportation hub of Malaysia, affording plenty of options for travellers. Straits City also boasts great connectivity to all major roads and highways in the area, including the Butterworth Outer Ring Road (BORR). Guests embarking on a nostalgic culture experience to the island can expect a 35-minute drive to Georgetown.

The Crowne Plaza brand continues to expand rapidly across Asia Pacific where it has quickly become the ideal choice of the modern business traveller through a purposeful design that offers flexible spaces to work, meet and relax, while satisfying and inspiring the needs of its guests both personally and professionally.

Crowne Plaza Penang Butterworth Straits City adds to an already impressive list of IHG properties scheduled to open in Malaysia in the next few years, most notably, Crowne Plaza Kota Kinabalu, Crowne Plaza Kuala Lumpur City Centre, Hotel Indigo Kuala Lumpur on the Park, and Kimpton Kuala Lumpur. These hotels will complement existing IHG brands: Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts.

IHG's upcoming launches is part of a pipeline of ten hotels* due to open in Malaysia in the next three to five years, adding to the existing six properties it operates. IHG's expansion is a testament to its unfaltering potential as an attractive business and travel destination. Asia Pacific itself will be the future home of more than 75 Crowne Plaza hotels which will feature the newly opened Crowne Plaza Phu Quoc Starbay in Vietnam, and future openings including Crowne Plaza Vinh Yen City Centre in Vietnam, Thailand's Crowne Plaza Bangkok Grand Sukhumvit, and Crowne Plaza Melbourne Carlton in Australia.

These follow the recent openings of Crowne Plaza Shanghai Hongqiao, the 100th property for the brand in China and the market's leading upscale brand and four Crowne Plaza openings in Australia including two in Sydney along the Darling Harbour and in Burwood, as well as in Adelaide and Tasmania. IHG's renowned portfolio already includes Crowne Plaza Changi Airport - six-time winner of the Skytrax World's Best Airport Hotel award, the elegant Crowne Plaza Paris - Republique, and Crowne Plaza Hamburg.