The extensive renovation of the hotel encompassed all 676 guest rooms and suites, the restaurant and bar, lobby and entryway.  It also includes the addition of an intimate new outdoor dining and lounge space, complete with a fire pit, featuring seating for 50 people and accessible directly from Third Street with promenade access to Yerba Buena Lane.  The renovation has added an additional 3,000 square feet of meeting and event space to the hotel�s already extensive facilities. 

The Westin San Francisco Market Street reflects The Westin brand�s focus on personal renewal through intuitive, anticipatory services, expressed through an array of new amenities and guest programs as well as through contemporary design and décor elements. 

�We are very proud to add The Westin San Francisco Market Street to our family of hotels,� said Sue Brush, senior vice president of Westin Hotels & Resorts.  �It will keep the Westin promise of enabling guests to experience personal renewal and feel better when they leave than when they arrived.�

The Westin San Francisco Market Street is close to many of the city�s most popular destinations, including the Ferry Building Marketplace, the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), the new Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), the Contemporary Jewish Museum (slated for completion in Spring 2008), AT&T Park, Chinatown and the new Westfield San Francisco Centre, home to the largest Bloomingdale�s outside of Manhattan. 

�The Westin San Francisco enjoys an ideal location for both leisure and business travelers -- blocks from the Financial District and Moscone Center and steps from Union Square, directly between Market and Mission streets, and at the gateway to the entire Yerba Buena arts area and San Francisco�s burgeoning Museum District,� said general manager Michael Casey.  �This is a very exciting time in San Francisco�s development, and we are delighted both with the timing of our revitalization project and our unique location in the very heart of this rapidly evolving neighborhood.�

The Westin San Francisco Market Street serves as a distinctive new San Francisco destination for business and leisure travelers and joins the legendary 103 year-old The Westin St. Francis in the heart of the city.  With an emphasis on relaxing accommodations, thoughtful amenities, and impeccable service that aims to anticipate each guest�s needs, The Westin San Francisco Market Street has been designed to make every visit an experience of revitalization.

Each of the hotel�s 676 guest rooms, including 26 suites, offer floor-to-ceiling windows providing expansive views of the city skyline, Yerba Buena Gardens, and the San Francisco Bay beyond.  Guests enjoy Westin�s signature Heavenly Bed and Heavenly Bath, as well as 37-inch flat-screen televisions.  Other amenities include a 1,900-square-foot fitness center, open only to hotel guests.  The WestinWORKOUT Powered by Reebok Gym offers state-of-the-art equipment and high-performance workouts that provide the ideal solution for those committed to maintaining their personal fitness.  Guided runs led by a Westin Running Concierge enable guests to keep up their routines while enjoying a personalized street-level tour of San Francisco.

The hotel offers 20,000 square feet of event space, including a 9,040-square foot Metropolitan Ballroom that can accommodate receptions of up to 1,200 guests, while groups of 12 to150 people can be hosted in 14 elegant, state-of-the-art meeting rooms.

Two acclaimed San Francisco firms -- architects Hornberger + Worstell and interior designers Alamosa Design Associates, Inc. -- led the re-design of The Westin San Francisco Market Street.  Bob Puccini of San Francisco�s award-winning Puccini Group is designing the hotel�s new signature restaurant, which is slated to be completed in early June.  The Puccini Group is a leading restaurant design and management firm that specializes in the conception, design and development of destination restaurants within boutique and luxury hotels worldwide. 

The hotel is located at 50 Third Street in San Francisco (between Market and Mission streets) and can be visited on the Web www.westin.com/marketstreet.  For reservations, please contact (415) 974-6400.

About Whitehall 
Whitehall Street Global Real Estate Limited Partnership 2005 is the most recent of the Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, a family of opportunistic real estate funds sponsored and managed by Goldman Sachs.  The Whitehall funds have invested in real estate and real estate-related assets worldwide since 1991.

About Westin Hotels & Resorts 
Westin Hotels & Resorts, with more than 137 hotels and resorts in more than 31 countries and territories, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT).  Starwood Hotels 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® Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands:  St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, Sheraton®, Westin®, Four Points® by Sheraton, W®, Le Méridien® and the recently announced AloftSM and ElementSM Hotels.  Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. 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.
 

Amie Rubenstein
415.394.6500
[email protected]