STARWOOD HOTELS AND RESORTS EXPANDS ALOFT BRAND IN THE MIDDLE EAST

DUBAI – May 1, 2012 – Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) has signed an agreement with Amer Eisa Mousa Al Amri, a prominent UAE businessman, to open the Aloft Sharjah. The opening of the Aloft Sharjah, scheduled for early 2015, marks the debut of the design-led brand in Sharjah and the second hotel for the brand in the Middle East, where it launched the Aloft Abu Dhabi in 2009.

Located on the beachfront of the Corniche Road, the Aloft Sharjah will offer convenient access to the city’s cultural and historical attractions and will be situated 10 minutes away from the Expo Center Sharjah.

We are delighted to partner with Amer Eisa Mousa Al Amri as we debut the first Aloft hotel in Sharjah”, said Roeland Vos, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Middle East and Africa “The opening of Aloft Sharjah underlines Starwood’s commitment to continued growth and expansion throughout the UAE, which is an integral part to our overall development strategy.”

On his first-ever hotel development, Amer Eisa Mousa Al Amri expressed his pleasure and content for signing the management agreement with Starwood: “We are thrilled to introduce Aloft to Sharjah and we are confident that through this partnership with Starwood, the Aloft Sharjah will create a new benchmark in the city with its modern style and great value.”

The new-build Aloft Sharjah will feature 286 urban-influenced guest rooms with signature loft-like ceilings, over-sized windows and ultra-comfortable plush platform beds as well as walk-in showers and Bliss® amenities. Each Aloft room will also be equipped with complimentary wireless Internet access and a unique plug-and-play connectivity solution which connects most electronic devices to the 40" flat-screen TV, turning the room into a high-tech office as well as an entertainment centre.

Architectural and engineering consultancy for the hotel will be provided by QHC - Architects and Engineers, a U.A.E. Based Leading Consultancy Firm with offices in Sharjah, Dubai and Beirut.

The hotel will boast atmospheric public spaces where guests can mix and mingle, read the paper, work on laptops, play a game of pool or grab a drink with friends at the re:mixSM and  w xyzSM lounges, both of which will become the places to be in Sharjah.  The re:chargeSM fitness centre and pool offers an opportunity to de-stress and re-energise and the unique re:fuelSM by Aloft introduces a convenient deli option for guests on the go, with an array of food and drinks available 24 hours a day.  For work meetings, training courses and presentations, the hotel will offer creative spaces equipped with the latest generation of audiovisual hardware.

Starwood currently operates the Aloft Abu Dhabi and Aloft Brussels Schuman, Aloft London Excel and is scheduled to open Aloft Bursa in Turkey in 2013.

Celebrated as the fastest brand launch in hospitality industry history, the debuts of Aloft New York Brooklyn, Aloft Zhengzhou Shangjie and Aloft Haiyang in China, and Aloft Coimbatore Singanallur in India, position the “style at a steal” brand with 55 hotels around the world.  Designed to appeal to the next generation of traveller, the fast-growing brand expects to increase its global portfolio to more than 70 hotels by 2013.

Starwood will make its debut in Sharjah in 2013 with the openings of Sheraton Sharjah and Four Points by Sheraton Sharjah. Starwood currently operates 23 hotels in the UAE and continues to strengthen its long established position in the Middle East as one of the leading luxury hotel operators in the region with a portfolio of approximately 50 existing hotels, with plans to grow more than 50 per cent by 2015.

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About Aloft Hotels
With more than 55 hotels open in the three years since Aloft first arrived on the scene, Aloft can be found everywhere from Abu Dhabi and Baltimore to Dallas and Beijing and everywhere in between. For more information, please visit www.alofthotels.com.
Aloft, like all brands within Starwoods portfolio, is proud to offer the Starwood Preferred Guest® program, which offers a breakthrough policy of no blackout dates on Free Night Awards. To learnmore, please visit www.spg.com.