BURSA, Turkey--February 7--Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) has signed agreements with Faik Celik Turizm, a division of Faik Celik Holding, to develop two new hotels in Turkey’s culturally-charged industrial centre. The new Sheraton and Aloft hotels will inject a new range of accommodation to Bursa when they open in 2013. Located in an emerging business and upscale residential area adjacent to the Bursa New Cultural Green Park and upcoming football stadium, Sheraton Bursa and Aloft Bursa will together add more than 300 rooms to this developing city.
 
Starwood currently operates five hotels in Turkey and plans to open two additional hotels in the country later this year. This development marks the debut of Starwood in Bursa.
 
According to Roeland Vos, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa, and Middle East, these agreements mark exciting milestones for Starwood’s continued growth throughout Central Eastern Europe. “Reaching out to new frontiers is a focus of our expansion strategy, so we are delighted to partner with Faik Celik Holding as we debut the first Starwood hotels in Bursa. The city of Bursa is evolving as a metropolitan centre of culture, industry, sport and leisure, making it an ideal match for our unique and compelling brands.”

Located on the south-east shore of Sea of Marmara, approximately 235 kilometres from Istanbul, Bursa is the fastest growing city in Turkey with a young population attracted by opportunities in its textile and automotive industries, as well as the tourism and sports sectors.
 
The new Sheraton Bursa Hotel will feature 171 guest rooms, including 47 executive rooms and 10 suites, all with SweetSleeper™ beds, plus two restaurants, lobby lounge and bar, a fitness centre, pool and spa. The hotel will also comprise more than 1,700 square metres of ultra-modern meeting and event facilities, including a large ballroom and pre-function area plus five conference rooms, business centre and the brand’s signature Link@SheratonSM experienced with Microsoft. The hotel will also feature Sheraton Club, providing guests with an upgraded experience in the private Club Lounge.
 
The new Aloft Bursa will feature 133 urban-influenced king-size rooms with signature loft-like ceilings, over-sized windows and ultra-comfortable plush platform beds as well as walk-in showers and Bliss® amenities. At every Aloft, savvy travellers can read the paper, work on their laptops via complimentary hotel-wide wireless Internet access, play a game of pool or grab a drink with friends at the sassy w xyz bar. The re:chargeSM fitness centre gives travellers the opportunity to de-stress and re-energize, while re:fuel by Aloft, a one stop food and beverage area, offers snacks and beverages to grab & go, 24 hours a day.

With nearly 50 hotels open since its June 2008 debut, Aloft Hotels has become the talk of the hospitality industry by going global while in launch mode. Aloft currently operates hotels in six countries, including the United States, Canada, China, United Arab Emirates, India and Belgium.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts currently operates five hotels throughout Turkey including three in Istanbul - W Istanbul and Sheraton Istanbul Maslak Hotel and Sheraton Istanbul Atakoy Hotel. The company also operates the Sheraton Cesme Hotel Resort and Spa, Sheraton Ankara Hotel & Convention Centre and will open a Luxury Collection hotel in the capital later this year. Other new developments include Le Méridien Istanbul Etiler, also scheduled to open at the end of this year.
 
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1025 properties in 100 countries and territories with 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and ElementSM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

About Faik Çelik Holding

Faik Çelik Holding provides top-quality service to its customers on a world scale ranging from multinational companies to individuals. Its markets are connected to a variety of sectors such as automotive, energy, heating, tourism and insurance. The holding company is investing new sectors, now making its first investment in the tourism sector with Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
Group companies of Faik Çelik Holding are Beyçelik Gestamp, Çelikpan, Emarc-Çelik, Gesbey, FC Enerji, Faik Çelik Turizm and Bursa Çelik Sigorta.
For more information, please visit www.faikcelikholding.com.tr