Meet Drew Schlesinger GM of The Star, Sydney, Sydney’s newest one of a kind entertainment and accommodation centre of excellence – exhibiting at Luxperience in September
With an impeccable international hotel pedigree, including General Manager of the InterContinental New York in Times Square, Vice President Hospitality of Boyd Gaming, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa and The Water Club, Atlantic City and with Kimpton Hotels as GM of 70 Park Avenue Hotel and Director of Operations for New York and Miami, Drew Schlesinger [left] is now GM of Sydney’s most exciting new hotel and entertainment venue, The Star, formerly the Star Casino, but now transformed!
I met with Drew recently and he told me The Star was officially opened on 15th September 2011, with Australian entertainment superstars Olivia Newton John and Russell Crowe on hand to help launch the property in a spectacular opening ceremony, with the $870 million transformation of Star City including the re-orientation of the building to embrace Sydney Harbour and the city skyline and as Drew described, the creation of “an aspirational destination”.
Drew told me The Star is also an “entertainment destination” in its own right, boasting more than 20 top restaurants, quality and stylish bars and cafes and a new luxury boutique hotel, The Darling, Sydney’s newest 5 star hotel which offers 171 stylish and spacious rooms and suites with views to the city skyline and harbour. The Star also offers a 16 room spa, an extensive upscale retail collection, a 4,000 capacity entertainment centre and upscaled gaming areas.
Drew told me that there is no other product similar in Sydney or anywhere in this region, with The Star redevelopment representing one of the biggest tourism and entertainment investments in Australia today.
With The Darling the pinnacle of The Star offering, Drew told me that it offers 5 to 6 star levels of service, a different sense right from when you enter, and a quality not previously experienced in Australia and the real skill and style in running a business like The Star and everything it offered and especially a property of the status of The Darling was not about what they as a business wanted to provide, but what the costumer wanted and delivering it!
With The Star a key Partner and exhibitor at Luxperience in September, I asked Drew, why The Star was exhibiting at Luxperience and he said, “ We want to see the very best top end agents and we are confident that they will be at Luxperience.
He added, “ Our property is very special so we also want to meet with Virtuoso entertainment buyers as we have a niche for privacy, with a private entrance that avoids floors”.
“We also want to meet with high end incentive buyers, as we have an offering like no other in Sydney and we are confident we will meet these buyers at Luxperience.”
For more information on The Star visit www.thestar.com and on Luxperience visit www.luxperience.com.au
A special Luxperience report by John Alwyn-Jones, Special Correspondent.
