Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has agreed a management contract for a new hotel in Vancouver, Canada, as part of its strategy to expand out of Asia Pacific and into gateway cities around the world.

The deluxe 120-room Shangri-La Vancouver will cover 15 floors of a new development in the heart of the city by Vancouver-based Peterson Investment Projects and Westbank Projects. The complex will also include an art gallery, high-end retail, residential accommodation and restaurants.

The hotel, scheduled to open in early 2008, will boast a restaurant with outdoor dining, a lobby lounge with a bar overlooking the Vancouver Art Gallery Public Art Site, business centre, private function and dining space, a library and a cinema.

It will also offer fitness facilities with pilates and stretching areas, an all-year-round outdoor infinity pool and whirlpool and a CHI Spa – expected to be the largest spa facility in Vancouver at more than 6,000sq ft.

CEO and managing director, Giovanni Angelini, said: “It is a wonderful opportunity for Shangri-La to enter the North American market with this landmark hotel.

“It is an important step in the group’s expansion plans outside Asia Pacific, targeting the prime North American market plus the fast-growing outbound traffic from China and the rest of Asia.”

Shangri-La's operating contract will run for an initial 15 years, plus another five renewable.

The Hong Kong-based company currently manages 42 hotels and more than 21,000 rooms. It also has around 20 projects under development. Details: www.shangri-la.com