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 The Former Banque du Canada Building in Old Montreal Transformed Into the 152-room W Montreal

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NEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2004 - W Hotels Worldwide, a collection of world-class hotels with a unique balance of comfort and leading design, will make its bold entry into Canada with the opening of the W Montreal this October.  Transforming the former Banque du Canada building in the historical Square Victoria in Old Montreal, the hotel is connected to the Convention Center and an underground concourse that marks the cultural rejuvenation of the area with retail shops, fine dining and nightlife.  W Montreal will make its mark with an inviting W Living Room experience, oversized guest rooms, an appealing restaurant, three scenic bars and a destination Spa.

"Montreal is a beautiful city with a unique sense of style and cultural energy you can't find anywhere else on the planet," said Barry Sternlicht, Chairman of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc.  (NYSE: HOT), W's parent company.   "It's a perfect setting to introduce Canada to W and we're thrilled to be a part of it."

Upon entering the hotel, guests will be welcomed under a sexy lit canopy setting the mood for the W's renowned Living Room experience, a 3,000 square foot space for social gatherings.  Plush sofa-style chairs and playful rows of pillows, soothing beats and colorful cocktails will ease guests into a unique retreat.  A glowing red welcome desk located next to the concierge offers W's signature "Whatever/Whenever" service, whether it's cookies and milk at 2am or a last-minute tuxedo fitting. The Living Room will also feature three 12-foot high waterfalls with water trickling down sculptured glass which will be illuminated from the back.  One will be located behind the Welcome Desk, one behind Concierge, and one facing the elevators.

Adjacent to the Living Room is Wunderbar, a lounge bar created by leading development company bpc with an outdoor-inspired interior.  Ebony floors are complimented by stingray banquettes and oversized metallic basin chairs, as a ceiling of copper-tinted mirror enables subtle voyeurism.  Wunderbar's sunken, cave-like VIP area offers a sexy sanctum capped by a Barisol ceiling. Lounging options include communal silver banquettes and embossed velvet "Pop" chairs.  A large projection screen, showing images of Canadian landscapes, serves as the backdrop for a stone DJ station.

The 152-room hotel features generously sized guestrooms designed to reflect the natural elements of Montreal.  W's Signature beds with feather-top mattress, 350 thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets and goose down comforters, are outfitted in white fur blankets and pillows for the cold winter months.  Fresh cut flowers mirroring the lush greenery throughout the city will be a standard in every guest room. Calming and serene with accents of electric blue, the rooms feature oversized couches and desks, illuminated end tables and voyeur showers, separated from the bedrooms only by a curtain for privacy.  A first for W design, each bathroom features a peek-a-boo window, adding an element of pure fun.

The W Montreal will offer eight suites designed like no other in the city, including five 2-level "Wow suites" at 547 square feet each and three 1,000-square-foot "Extreme-Wow" suites with 20 foot high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Square Victoria, a view exclusive to W Montreal.  The suites open up onto a spacious balcony and the scent of the flowers from the Square below.

Standard in-room features include dual telephones, high-speed Internet access, CD players with an extensive CD library, 27"-color TVs with advanced in-room entertainment systems, DVD players, coffeemakers, cotton pique bathrobes and custom bath amenities.

Located in the heart of the new Cite Internationale District, W Montreal will entice foodies from near and far with "Otto" and its sizzling young chefs Franco Gioffre and Gaetan Poitras at the helm.  Designed by W in collaboration with Miguel Cancio Martins of Buddha Bar (Paris) and Man Ray (New York) fame, the restaurant will serve Italian fusion with tasty dishes like ravioli stuffed with lobster and roasted Cornish hen. 

Taking the grand staircase up from the Living Room, guests can make their way to the mezzanine level where the Plateau Bar is located.  Overlooking the Living Room, the Plateau Bar will be donned in soft red and brown tones with woven lighting fixtures and a pressed leaf bar.  Happy hour will never be the same as the financial crowds from the neighboring stock exchange are expected to make this their new after-hours refuge.

W Montreal features Away, a 1,200-square-foot spa that will be a destination in itself, complete with five luxurious treatment rooms where hotel guests and locals can unwind and be pampered with the latest treatments.  Away will use G.M. Collin products exclusively in their treatments. For those who don't want to leave the comfort of their rooms, in-room massages will be available.  Adjacent to the spa is Detox, a full-service fitness center with state of the art exercise equipment.

W Montreal will feature Wired, a full-service business center open 24 hours.  There will be 3,000 square feet of meeting facilities on the mezzanine level and six meeting studios.  Sensory Setup, a W practice designed to liven up meetings with soothing music, explosive tastes and stimulating visuals, will ease guests into a creative frame of mind.

About W Hotels:

The first W Hotel opened in New York in December 1998. There are now five W Hotels in New York City and 19 hotels brand-wide in the U.S. and abroad. W's first property in Latin America, W Mexico City, opened its doors in December of 2003, and W's first property in Asia will open later this summer in the Walkerhill district of Seoul.  Just recently, residence properties have been announced for Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Scottsdale and Hoboken.  In addition, there are more than a dozen W Hotels in the development pipeline in city and resort destinations around the world.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts:

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 740 properties in more than 80 countries and 110,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. 


 
Contact:
W Hotels Worldwide
http://www.starwood.com
Also See: Spanish Development Consortia Name Starwood's W Hotels as Operator of 475-room Waterfront Hotel in Barcelona, Spain / July 2004
Steve Marx Named Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations for Starwood's W Brand / April 2003
Starwood to Own 50% of First W Hotels Resort, 80 room Resort to be Located on Private Island in the Republic of Maldives / May 2004


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