Starwood Opens Third Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Colombia; Four P

    Business Editors/Travel & Hospitality Writers

    WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 2005--Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) announces the opening of the Four Points by Sheraton Cali hotel in Cali, Colombia. The newly-built hotel is located in the north of Cali, one of Colombia's largest business and financial centers, and is an ideal venue for both the corporate meetings market as well as international business travelers. The Four Points by Sheraton Cali is a franchise agreement between Starwood Hotels & Resorts and PROINTEL Ltda., a local investment firm, which owns the hotel.
    "As we continue to grow in Latin America, we look towards expanding into emerging business districts in addition to capital cities," stated Osvaldo Librizzi, president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Latin America. "Cali is home to the second largest corporate meetings market in Colombia, and boasts the country's third largest hotel infrastructure. Along with our excellent partnership with PROINTEL Ltda, we are confident that our new Four Points by Sheraton will meet with the same success experienced by our other properties throughout the region."
    Each of the 90 guestrooms features the newly-introduced Four Points by Sheraton Four Comfort Bed(SM).
    "We are extremely pleased to have selected Starwood's Four Points by Sheraton brand to manage the new hotel in Cali and marks our fifth franchise in the region with the company," stated Mr. Jorge Londono, president of PROINTEL Ltda. "This is an ideal opportunity for us to help Starwood expand their mid-priced brand, as well as increase their presence in Latin America."
    The hotel's meeting space features three function rooms that can accommodate over 400 people and can be adapted for social and business events over an area of approximately 22,900 square feet. The three function rooms are divided into a large meeting room which can accommodate up to 200 people and two other smaller meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 100 and 120, respectively. Business travelers can also take advantage of office services provided by the hotel's business center.
    The hotel also boasts a lobby bar and a full service restaurant, offering visitors with a wide selection of international dishes and local favorites. Additional services by the Four Points by Sheraton Cali include a personalized welcome at the international airport and a courtesy coffee station in the hotel lobby. A solarium, spa, fitness facility, sauna and Jacuzzi are also located on site. Moreover, Four Points by Sheraton Cali is the first hotel in Latin America featuring the Four Points by Sheraton Four Comfort Bed, a multi-layered, cozy cocoon design that treat guests to an ultimate good night's sleep atop a Sealy Posturepedic(R) Plush Top Sleep System outfitted with four luxurious pillows and wrapped in crisp cotton blend sheets.
    Four Points by Sheraton, with more than 136 properties in 17 countries, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and is consistently rated as a top performer in the mid-priced category by Business Travel News' "Annual U.S. Hotel Chain Survey." Four Points by Sheraton hotels are located at airports, in mid-sized cities, leisure destinations, and business and commercial centers. Our hotels cater to business and leisure travelers as well as meeting planners seeking a quality, mid-priced and value-oriented product. In addition to the high-speed Internet access services, key features include an on-premise restaurant serving cooked-to-order breakfast, complimentary bottled water, room service with a 30-minute delivery guarantee, swimming pools, fitness facilities, business services and meeting space with catering facilities.

    Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 750 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 franchiser 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. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

For additional information, please contact: Laura Canepa Starwood Hotels & Resorts Latin America + 5411 4318-9397 (tel) laura.canepa@starwoodhotels.com

For further information and photographs, please contact Starwood's new media hotline, toll free (866) 4-STAR-PR (866-478-2777)

* * JOURNALISTS - PLEASE NOTE: JOIN STARWOOD'S PRESS RELEASE ALERT SERVICE TO RECEIVE STARWOOD COMPANY NEWS AND INFORMATION * * To become a member, simply access the Starwood website, at: www.starwood.com/press Once you reach the home page, enter your e-mail address, and click "Subscribe".

--30--JC/ny*

CONTACT: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Mark Ricci, 914-640-8496 mark.ricci@starwoodhotels.com

KEYWORD: NEW YORK COLOMBIA INTERNATIONAL LATIN AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: REAL ESTATE BUILDING/CONSTRUCTION TRAVEL SOURCE: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005