Le Meridien Presents "First Night".

A Large Scale Installation of Light and Art To Celebrate the Relaunch of Le Meridien in San Francisco, North America, and the World

Entire Hotel Is Transformed into a Work of Art

" Light is life. Light is transformation. Our objective in San Francisco is to relaunch and recast Le Meridien with new light, to create a new view, and to celebrate its new life" -- Thierry Dreyfus

SAN FRANCISCO -- On November 1, in an extraordinary installation of light and art, San Francisco will host the worldwide relaunch of Le Meridien following the November 2005 acquisition of Le Meridien by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT). Through a large scale contemporary expression of light and art, the new brand direction will become illuminated.

The internationally acclaimed lighting designer Thierry Dreyfus will re-imagine Le Meridien San Francisco, located at 333 Battery Street, into a tower of Mondrian-inspired light and color. The installation will transform the 24-story building into an ever-changing piece of contemporary art designed so that each guest becomes a contributor. It will be unveiled on November 1, 2006 and remain until January 31, 2007.

Thierry Dreyfus' alliance was conceived of by JerE[sup.3]me Sans, who was recently appointed Cultural Curator for Le Meridien. JerE[sup.3]me Sans, an internationally renowned curator and founder of Paris' acclaimed Palais de Tokyo museum, is directing the artistic restaging of the European-influenced brand by forging partnerships for Le Meridien with contemporary artists and art institutions worldwide.

Le Meridien San Francisco's First Night celebrations and Thierry Dreyfus' interactive installation will become a signature celebration for the opening of new Le Meridien hotels throughout North America and around the world. First Night in San Francisco marks the beginning of a series of global artist events for Le Meridien openings. First Night San Francisco will be followed by Shanghai (December 1, 2006) and Split, Croatia (April 2007).

"We are proud to work with artists of this caliber to revitalize Le Meridien. Through their contributions we will stimulate our guests' passion by providing cultural experiences and engage them by playing an active role in the creation art. To do so in a culturally rich city like San Francisco makes this event even more remarkable," said Eva Ziegler, senior vice president, Le Meridien. "The sister-city relationship between San Francisco and Paris further distinguishes the aptness of bringing this high-end European lifestyle brand to one of the most European of American cities."

Thierry Dreyfus gained fame in the late 1980s for his groundbreaking work with the Strasbourg Opera He created world headlines in 2005 when he won an international competition to create the artistic design for the highly-anticipated re-opening of Paris' Grand Palais, a celebration that attracted 50,000 visitors to experience Thierry Dreyfus' strikingly innovative lighting of the building's magnificent glass and steel copula. He is also the lighting designer of choice for France's fashion elite, from Yves Saint Laurent and Helmut Lang to Calvin Klein and Miguel Androver.

JerE[sup.3]me Sans, who has gained an international following for his work as a curator (Baltic in Newcastle/Gateshead), teacher (Central St. Martins; Milwaukee Institute of Visual Arts), author, journalist, musician, and arts provocateur, said, "Since we are starting a new era of Le Meridien history, I invited Thierry Dreyfus to reactivate the building, to put new life into it with a light installation and to create a scenario for the people in the building - a new physical and visual experience. Thierry is one of the leading artists dealing with light in various living environments and he was the right person to develop this first project in San Francisco and afterwards for other Le Meridien hotels worldwide."

As part of the brand's ongoing pursuit to bring art and culture alive in a new light for guests and host cities alike, Le Meridien has formed an alliance with Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA). The partnership will offer Le Meridien guests special access to YBCA as part of their stay and the opportunity to experience art in the hotel with an installation in an on-site gallery by New York based artist Hisham Bharoocha, currently exhibiting at the YBCA.

Synonymous worldwide with style, originality, and a passion for art, architecture, food, fashion, music and film since its founding in Paris in 1972, Le Meridien has come to represent the "art" of hospitality throughout the world, known as much for its elegance, finesse and panache as for its well-trained staff and commitment to providing guests with a new way of seeing the individuality of each of its locales.

Le Meridien brand, currently represented by more than 120 properties in 52 countries, was acquired by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in November 2005. With close to 70 percent of its properties located in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, Le Meridien provides a strong international complement to Starwood's primarily North American holdings. Plans call for dynamic expansion of Le Meridien-branded hotels within the next five years, concentrating in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, including destinations such as India, Thailand and China.

"Le Meridien is a perfect complement to the Starwood portfolio, with its international footprint and European-focused customer base," said Eva Ziegler. "Le Meridien represents a great growth opportunity for Starwood, and further underscores Starwood's position as one of the leading international consumer lifestyle hotel and leisure companies."

With 360 deluxe rooms and an ideal location at the crossroads of San Francisco's business, culture and shopping districts, Le Meridien adds a high European service standard and a unique experience to the city's rapidly rebounding hotel landscape. Adjacent to the Federal Reserve Building and minutes away from popular destinations such as Union Square, the Embarcadero, Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf, the hotel boasts more than 13,000 square feet of meeting space, 10 meeting rooms, and four boardrooms. It is also the home to the fine-dining Park Grill Restaurant, one of the city's renowned power breakfast and lunch destinations, as well as the intimate Bar 333.