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Joint Venture to Develop 205-room W Santiago Hotel |
| W Hotels Makes the Next Stop on Its Global Expedition: Santiago, Chile;
W Santiago Hotel Will Be the Brand's First Property in South America
NEW YORK - May 1, 2006 -- W Hotels, the world's fastest-growing luxury hotel brand, announced today plans to build its first hotel in South America, W Santiago Hotel scheduled to open in 2008. W Santiago, the brand's fifth international property scheduled to open in the next three years, following Barcelona, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Dubai, will be ideally located across from Plaza Peru, on Avenida Isidoro Goyenechea, Santiago's most vibrant business thoroughfare. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT), W's parent company, entered into a joint venture with Territoria Group to develop the 205-room hotel, which will be part of a larger mixed use building with retail space and offices. W Santiago will feature all of the brand's celebrated comforts including the signature W Living Room experience and Whatever/Whenever, the hotel's 24-hour concierge service that can provide with whatever guests want (from a pair of running shoes at 2 a.m. to private jet service), whenever they want it. The hotel will indulge guests and residents with a nightlife destination and signature restaurant with an outdoor dining terrace and a Bliss Spa. More than 37,000 square-feet of meeting space will make the W Santiago one of the largest meeting facilities in the city, ideal for local meetings and conventions. "Exploring South America for the perfect spot, we realized that Santiago is one of the few capital cities in the world with access both to ski slopes and beaches," said Ross Klein, President of W Hotels Worldwide. "This concept - having the best of all worlds in one place - is one we identify with in every W city. Whether you're in San Diego or Seoul, you'll find the best of design, art, fashion, music and technology right in our own Living Rooms." W hotels is present in Latin America through the W Mexico City located in the upscale Polanco area. W is now expanding in this region with the opening of its first property in South America. "We are thrilled that the first W Hotel project to debut in South America will be in Chile. The people of Santiago, the nation's capital, are delighted that W has chosen this city as the first site, it validates the city's reputation as a key destination within South America," said Osvaldo Librizzi, President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Latin America. The property will be designed by Gary Handel of NYC-based Handel Architects, LLC, whose renowned work includes awards from the American Institute of Architects, the Boston Society of Architects, the Urban Land Institute, the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the National Commercial Builders Council. Handel Architects is a full-service design firm with over 70 architects, interior designers, and LEED accredited professionals in New York and San Francisco. Starwood operates four hotels in Chile including the Sheraton Santiago Hotel & Convention Center, The San Cristobal Tower, a luxury Collection property, the Four Points by Sheraton Santiago and the new Sheraton Miramar & Convention Center in Vina del Mar. W Hotels is a global lifestyle brand with 20 properties in the most vibrant cities around the world. Inspiring and indulging its guests with thoughtful, refreshing and stylish experiences, signature restaurants, bars and destination spas, W has become the fastest growing luxury hotel brand in the world. Each hotel offers a unique mix of innovative design, comfort and cultural influences from fashion to music to art and everything in between. Recent openings include W's first property in Asia, W Seoul - Walkerhill, which opened in August of 2004 and its first property in Canada, W Montreal, in October of 2004. W Residences, offering the W lifestyle at home, have been announced for Las Vegas, Hollywood, Dallas, South Beach, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Hoboken. Internationally, W has announced plans for hotels in the Maldives, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Dubai. For more information, visit www.whotels.com. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 850 properties in more than 95 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood(R) Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury Collection(R), Sheraton(R), Westin(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, W(R), Le Meridien and the recently announced AloftSM. 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. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities regulations. |
| Contact:
W Hotels Worldwide
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