Starwood Hotels & Resorts Expands the Westin Brand in China with Signing of the Westin Zhejiang Resort, Nine Dragon Hill.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc (NYSE: HOT) and Zhejiang Nine Dragons Development Co. Ltd announced an agreement for Starwood to manage The Westin Zhejiang Resort at Nine Dragon Hill, China. Scheduled to open in mid 2008, the 350-room hotel will be part of an integrated resort complex consisting of two 18-hole golf courses, marinas for private yachts, a waterfront retail complex and residential villas.

Nine Dragon Hill is well-known holiday resort area for the more than 37 million residents living in the Yangtze River Delta Region. The Yangtze River Delta region is also one of the strongest economic growth areas of China and the surrounding residential market is one of the largest in the world. Nine Dragon Hill is located within a two-hour drive from Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou, the latter two of which are located in the Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces. Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, together with the Shanghai municipality, have been experiencing some of the fastest economic growth in China, fueled by the large influx of foreign investment and strong export market for its products.

"We are very proud to be working in partnership with Zhejiang Nine Dragons Development Co., Ltd to introduce Westin Hotels unique service culture and innovative signature services and products to travelers visiting Zhejiang," said Miguel Ko, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia-Pacific. "The location of this resort in the beautiful forest park of Nine Dragon Hill also reinforces Westin's new brand positioning around personal renewal by offering guests the services, products and amenities that allow them to relax, rejuvenate and restore during their stay," added Ko.

The resort will feature 350 guest rooms, and more than 16,000 square feet of meeting space. The hotel facilities will also include three dining outlets, a health club, spa and an indoor swimming pool. The beachfront resort will offer visitors a retreat from the rigors of travel, with its proximity to the mountains and sea, green pines, beautiful reefs and ancient temples.

The signing of The Westin Zhejiang Resort, Nine Dragon Hill heralds the continued expansion of Westin Hotels in China. The Westin Zhejiang Resort, Nine Dragon Hill will be the fifth Westin hotels in mainland China, joining The Westin Shanghai, The Westin Beijing - Financial Street, The Westin Guangzhou and The Westin Nanjing. The Westins in Beijing, Guangzhou and Nanjing are slated to open in 2006, 2007 and 2009 respectively.

Westin Hotels & Resorts, with 121 hotels and resorts in 31 countries and territories, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and was voted the number one upper-upscale hotel brand for three years in Business Travel News' "Annual U.S. Hotel Chain Survey." Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. 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(R) Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury Collection(R), Sheraton(R), Westin(R), Four Points(R) by Sheraton, W(R), Le Meridien(R) and the recently announced Aloft(SM). Starwood Hotels 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.

(Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and involve risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks and uncertainties are presented in detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained or that results and events will not materially differ. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.)

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