In its first foray into Eastern Europe, a Turkish hotel chain has announced plans to develop a 500-room hotel and convention center in the Latvian seaside resort of Jūrmala.

The Istanbul-based Dedeman Hotels & Resorts International expects to open the Resort Dedeman Jurmala in 2007, the company announced in a press release. The hotel is to include a casino, night club, spa, ice skating, tennis courts, two restaurants and a café.

The hotel also is to have a 1,000-person ballroom and a 100-person concert hall, which the company said will help position the property for convention tourism.

Dedeman began in Ankara, Turkey, in 1966. The company owns 16 hotels, three of them outside Turkey. The Jūrmala property is one of four new properties Dedeman is developing.

Jūrmala, a historical resort area on the Gulf of Rīga, is home to a number of hotels already, including properties such as the 165-room Baltic Beach Hotel, the 120-room Daina, the 40-room Eiropa Hotel, the 38-room Pegasa Pils, and the 16-room Villa Joma.