Hotel Online Special Report
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Starwood Redefines Its Presence in Stamford, CT 
With the Rebranding of Two Hotels
The Sheraton Stamford to Become Westin; The Tara Stamford to Become Sheraton
 
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Sept. 14, 1998 -  In a move that will align its two Stamford, Conn. hotels with the ideal customer bases and allow the hotels to better compete within the local market, Starwood Hotels Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is rebranding the current Sheraton Stamford as a Westin and the current Tara Stamford Hotel as a Sheraton. The Sheraton conversion to Westin takes place today with the Tara conversion to Sheraton tomorrow, September 15.

"With the Starwood acquisition of both Westin Hotels Resorts and ITT Sheraton earlier this year, the company now has a strong portfolio of six individual and unique hotel brands with clearly defined customer bases, including Westin, Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, Four Points Hotels and the soon-to-be-launched W brand," said Juergen Bartels, Starwood Hotel Group Chief Executive Officer. "As the company carefully analyzes its hotel portfolio in the process of integrating the companies together, it can now maximize on this family of brands by fitting the right hotels to the right brands to allow them to more clearly fit their target customer base and more strongly compete against other hotel brands in the same area," Bartels added.

The new Westin Stamford is currently undergoing an extensive renovation, while the new Sheraton Stamford is scheduled to begin its comprehensive renovation later this year. Both hotels are expected to complete their renovations in the first quarter of 1999. Starwood will invest a total of more than $24 million on its two Stamford properties, with $16 million allotted for the new Westin renovation and $8 million for the new Sheraton hotel. Hilary Billings, Starwood's Senior Vice President of Brand Design and Development, is overseeing the new design elements of both properties.

The Westin Stamford

Located in the center of the Northeast business corridor and surrounded by more than twenty Fortune 500 companies, the new Westin Stamford will be the top upscale hotel in Stamford.  Upon completion of the $16 million renovation to its guest rooms, public spaces and meeting space, the hotel will exude a smart sense of style with a distinct residential feel.  Each of the newly renovated 478 rooms and 23 suites will project a sophisticated urban feel and feature all standard Westin products and amenities which include two-line phones with in-room voice messaging, pillow-soft mattresses, down comforters, popular Westin pillows, desktop data port access, iron and ironing board, 27" cable television with in-room movies and video games, in-room safe, hair dryer, coffee/tea maker featuring Starbucks coffee and a state-of-the-art lock system for ease of entry and added security.

Home to a world-class meeting facility including the largest ballroom in Stamford, The Westin Stamford features more than 34,000 square feet of function space, all located on one floor. Additional guest services and amenities include free indoor parking, complimentary newspaper Monday through Friday, complimentary shuttle to the downtown business and shopping district, same-day laundry service, 24-hour room service, express check-in and check-out, business center and fully equipped health club featuring indoor swimming pool, outdoor tennis court, whirlpool and basketball court.

For added luxury the hotel also offers a Westin Executive Club level providing additional amenities such as concierge lounge, big screen satellite television, complimentary local telephone calls, turn down service, continental breakfast, nightly happy hour with complimentary hors d'oeuvres, private elevator, bathrobe and other room amenities.

For dining and entertainment in the hotel, guests will enjoy The Bistro, a full-service restaurant located on the lobby level featuring breakfast and lunch buffets as well as a seafood menu for dinner. Guests can also relax and  unwind in Magnificent J's lounge, a full service bar .

Guests at The Westin Stamford will enjoy additional benefits offered specifically by Westin. Service Express(R), a "one call does it all" concept exclusive to Westin hotels and resorts allows guests to dial one number on their phone to order room service, call the bellman or room attendant or have any other request filled. For an additional $20 per night the hotel offers Westin Guest Office(R) accommodations which double as offices and provide in-room multifunction laser printer/fax/copier, dual line speaker phone with data port, Macintosh and IBM-compatible computer printer cable and surge protector and ergonomically correct desk chair.

The Sheraton Stamford

The Sheraton Stamford is situated in downtown Stamford and is a preferred host hotel for meetings held by many of the local Fortune 500 companies including General Electric, Pitney Bowes and Xerox.  The hotel offers more than 30,000 square feet of flexible meeting and conference space including the 10,000 square foot International Ballroom and the 1,400 square foot Chairman's Boardroom.

The hotel's $8 million renovation will encompass both guest rooms and public space of the hotel. Guest rooms will be refurbished with new furniture, soft goods, carpeting and upholstery, reflecting a more current design scheme. The hotel's five-story atrium will be completely redone, the focal point of which will be a brand new, high energy restaurant featuring a bistro style and exciting open display kitchen.

The Sheraton Stamford boasts the largest hotel health club facility in the city complete with indoor pool, steam room, men's and women's sauna, whirlpool and the latest in fitness equipment and resistance machines. Each of the 445 guest rooms, including 35 suites, feature a remote control cable television, hair dryer, coffee maker, two-line data port telephones, iron and ironing board, large separate dressing area and enclosed walk-in closet. The hotel also offers Corporate Club Level rooms featuring in-room amenities such as a bathrobe, daily newspaper, oversized work desk with high intensity lamp, two-line speakerphone with data port, free local calls and complimentary bottled water and light snacks. The Corporate Club Level Lounge offers complimentary continental breakfast and evening hors d'oeuvres with bar.

While under Tara representation, the hotel was voted for two consecutive years in 1995 and 1996 as the "Hotel of the Year" out of the 15 Tara hotels located in the Northeast. Guests who stay at both The Westin Stamford and The Sheraton Stamford will be able to earn their way towards
free travel in Starwood's new frequent guest program, due to debut in January 1999. With more than 550 participating hotels and resorts in more than 60 countries, including 100 resorts around the world, the new program will not only be the industry's most global, but promises to be the best of the competition with a structure focused on simplicity, flexibility in redemption options and inclusion of all of Starwood's brands.

Current members of the Sheraton Club International (SCI) or Westin Premier(R) frequent guest programs will continue to earn points in their respective program when staying at Westin or Sheraton hotels worldwide through the end of the year, at which time, the total balance of unexpired points in all active member accounts (both SCI and Westin Premier(R)) will be automatically converted over to the new Starwood program. Starwood Hotels Resorts Worldwide, Inc., through its Sheraton, Westin and Caesars subsidiaries, has 650 hotels in nearly 70 countries with 125,000 employees and is one of the leading hotel and gaming operating companies in the world. Starwood Hotels Resorts is the largest real estate investment trust in the United States. Shares of Starwood Hotels Resorts Worldwide, Inc. are paired and trade together with shares of Starwood Hotels Resorts (NYSE: HOT).
 

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Contact:
Sandra Merkin 
of Westin Brand PR, 206-443-5058, [email protected]
or Deborah Bernstein 
of Sheraton Brand PR, 
914-640-8361, [email protected]
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Also See:
Historic Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston SC, Reflagged Westin / Aug 1998 
Starwood Hotels Resorts Acquires Danbury Hilton Hotel / May 1998 
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Announces the Launch of 'W' Hotels / April 1998 

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