on january 13, 1992, itt sheraton designated 28 of its premier hotels and 33 of the sheraton towers, the luxury "hotel-within-a-hotel" facilities located within sheraton's largest and most exclusive hotels, as the itt sheraton luxury collection. the flagship of the division was the st regis in new york city. in 1994, itt sheraton purchased a controlling interest in the italian ciga chain, the compagnia italiana grandi alberghi, or italian grand hotels company, which had been seized from its previous owner, the aga khan, by its creditors. the chain had begun by operating hotels in italy, but over-expanded across europe just as a recession hit. the majority of these hotels were placed in the itt sheraton luxury collection, though a few were placed in the sheraton division. after sheraton's purchase by starwood, the luxury collection was marketed as a separate division, though it contained a large number of hotels still named sheraton. most have been renamed over the last few years, there are only three such hotels remaining today - sheraton addis (addis ababa, ethiopia), sheraton grande sukhumvit (bangkok, thailand), and sheraton kuwait (kuwait city, kuwait).