Starwood Announces a New Sheraton Luxury Resort in Cork, Ireland Scheduled to Open in Spring 2006; Sheraton Fota Island Golf Resort & Spa Will Be Starwood's Second Irish Property

The hotel is being constructed on the site of the existing FotaIsland Golf Club - home of the Irish Open in 2001 and 2002. Inaddition to the championship golf course, hotel and lodge, guests willalso enjoy the full service destination Spa with 17 treatment rooms, aspecialty restaurant, a full-service dining restaurant and Whiskey Barin one of the most idyllic settings in Ireland. The resort will alsoultimately include over 250 luxury residential lodges.

Fota Island is a scenic island in Cork Harbor, just north of thelarger island of Cobh. Located 20 minutes from Cork Airport, the newhotel will be a great location from which vacationers to exploresouthern Ireland, while also taking advantage of all the facilitiesthat are offered to resort guests. The island is also host toIreland's only wildlife park - as well as Fota House, an historic 18thcentury hunting lodge renowned for its breathtaking gardens.

"We are thrilled to be opening another hotel in Ireland," saidRoeland Vos, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Europe, Middle East& Africa. "Since the opening of The Westin Dublin in 2001, we havebeen looking for other opportunities in this market. This hotelincreases Starwood's commitment to Ireland, while further expanding onthe wonderful resorts we can offer our guests around the world."

"We chose Sheraton because it is a great brand to be working withon this project," said John Fleming, Managing Director, FlemingConstruction. "Fota Island is already highly regarded as a golfdestination - the new hotel, residential lodge development andextensive spa facilities will really add to the appeal of this part ofIreland for leisure, incentive and conference business. With Starwoodalready having a presence in Ireland and a proven track record withthe success of The Westin Dublin, they make an ideal hotel managementpartner for us."

In June 2006 Fota Island golf course is hosting the AIB IrishSeniors Open Golf Championship. With the launch of the new resort, theexisting PGA-endorsed golf course will be enhanced by the provision ofan additional nine holes of championship caliber standards, creating aworld-class golf destination, with challenging features to test theskills of any golfer.

The Sheraton Fota Island Golf Resort & Spa will also offer aworld-class destination spa, designed by Dr. Christian Jost, a notedEuropean spa consultant. The spa will include 17 state-of-the-arttreatment rooms, a hydropool, walking river, gymnasium, swimming pooland conservatory for post-treatment relaxation.

The hotel is less than six miles from Cork City, which is thecurrent European Capital of Culture. The surrounding corporatebusiness parks house many international companies such as Motorola,Black & Decker, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. For events and meetings,the hotel will offer six meeting rooms, with a capacity to accommodategroups ranging from 6 to 500 people. The hotel's location and stunningviews also make it the ideal venue for weddings and gala events.

In addition to The Westin Dublin, Starwood Hotels & Resortscurrently operate nine hotels in the UK & Ireland, including TheWestin Turnberry Resort, Ayrshire; the Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa,Edinburgh; The Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly; the Sheraton Park Tower,Knightsbridge and the Sheraton Heathrow.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leadinghotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 750properties in more than 80 countries and 120,000 employees at itsowned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands,Starwood(R) corporation is a fully integrated owner, operator andfranchisor of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis(R), The LuxuryCollection(R), Sheraton(R), Westin(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, andW(R), Hotels and Resorts as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc.,one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacationinterval ownership resorts. For more information, please visitwww.starwoodhotels.com
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