SHERATON OPENS HUGE HOT SPRING RESORT IN CHINA IN HUZHOU, THE SHERATON HUZHOU HOT SPRING RESORT

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SHERATON HOTELS & RESORTS UNVEILS

ONE OF THE LARGEST HOT SPRING RESORTS IN GREATER CHINA

Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort is set to be one of the most architecturally innovative designs in the Sheraton brand’s Global Portfolio

Sheraton is set to widen lead as the dominant upper-upscale international hotel brand in Greater China as it meets guests’ demand for unique resort products

 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) today announced that Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort is one of the largest hot spring resorts in Greater China, with the recent completion of its hot spring and spa facilities. With 101 individual hot spring pools and jacuzzis across a vast 20,000sqm spa complex, Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort is the latest in a series of stunning resort offerings by Sheraton.

“As the first international brand to enter into China, Sheraton has been growing at a phenomenal pace and China continues to drive the brand’s future pipeline growth”, said Hoyt Harper, Global Brand Leader for Sheraton Hotels and Resorts. “With the brand’s growth focusing primarily in the country’s secondary and tertiary markets, Sheraton is working with our partners to develop new resort products. Our resorts aim to meet the demands of an increasingly affluent local market that have the means and desire to travel; in addition to riding on trend of leisure travel within China.”

Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort’s Cutting-edge Design Makes it a Modern Icon

Slated for full completion at the end of 2014, Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort is set to be one of the most architecturally innovative resorts in the Sheraton brand’s global portfolio. It features an eye-catching, ring-shaped exterior designed by lead architect Ma Yansong and a team of internationally renowned designers.

Located at the southern point of China’s famed Taihu Lake in Huzhou just two hours away from Shanghai, the design concept of Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort incorporates traditional Chinese symbolism in a contemporary setting. The resort’s cutting-edge design has earned its reputation as a modern icon in Huzhou. The circular shape symbolizes unity, wholeness, and infinity in Chinese culture – ideas that resonate with the Sheraton brand’s positioning as “The World’s Gathering Place.” When night falls, 79 lighting lines light up the building’s facade, reflecting the resort in the lake like a full and luminescent moon.

Its striking 27-storey structure consists of two curved towers - the Crystal Tower and the Jade Tower -  both soaring more than 300 feet above the ground. The resort’s 282 luxurious and contemporary guestrooms are located within the towers, which join together in a gleaming arch that also houses many of the resort’s facilities. As a result of its unique curved structure, a staggering 28 lifts are needed to service the towers. Interestingly, most of its rooms are also of different shapes and sizes, only two rooms are of the exact shape and size on each floor and mirrored on the opposite tower. All rooms offer the Sheraton brand’s signature comforts and amenities such as the Sheraton Sweet Sleeper^SM Bed, ample work space and state-of-the-art technology.

Sheraton brand’s signature restaurant Feast presents multiple open kitchens with delectable buffet spreads of eastern and western fare, as well as an outdoor “al fresco” lakeside terrace, while The Lobby Lounge provides a warm and inviting place to relax over coffee, Chinese Teas, or pre-dinner drinks. The arch connecting Crystal and Jade Towers from the 23rd floor houses an integrated contemporary restaurant – Starlight Kaiseki﹒Chuan, Sichuan Hot Pot and Japanese Kaiseki overlooking Taihu Lake. Located separately is a low-rise annex that features Sheraton brand’s signature YUE Chinese Restaurant with 15 private dining rooms with lake views. Joining the two towers underneath the lake is the resort’s lower level, which houses a Shine Spa for Sheraton and well-equipped fitness facilities featuring the brand's health and fitness program, Sheraton Fitness.

Extensive meeting and event spaces makes Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort the premier choice for meeting planners, with over 2,000sqm of function and meeting spaces, including a pillar-free ballroom and the 300sqm Taihu room on the 27^th floor with its stunning chandeliers and panoramic view of the lake. Additionally, the resort will appeal to brides and grooms-to-be with its 1,600sqm ring-shaped Wedding Island, a verdant outdoor venue overlooking the lake and its European-inspired Rose Garden.

One of the Largest Hot Spring Resorts in Greater China 

With the recent unveiling of its signature Mystic Spa and Hot Spring Village, Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Spa is one of the largest hot spring resorts in Greater China. The Spa and Hot Spring features 101 hot spring pools & jacuzzis, including 39 private guest villas, eight spa chalets for private treatments and 21 treatment rooms housed in the Spa complex all across the vast 20,000sqm spa complex adjacent to the iconic Sheraton Huzhou ring-shaped main building.

Central to Mystic Spa is a large glass dome pool complex featuring 26 hot spring pools overlooking the resort’s private lake as well as a hot spring waterfall.  On arrival from the underground passage that connects directly to the private changing rooms, guests are greeted with the stunning vista of cascading waterfalls running over large vertical stones from the famous Tai Mountain in Shandong Province. The water flows into the resort’s largest hot spring pool where exotic flora and fauna, stone statues from across Asia and hot steam in the air provide guests with the feeling of being in a lush tropical jungle. Away from the main pool, other hot spring pools, such as the unique red wine pool with antioxidant properties, are located on different maze-like levels.

Dotted alongside the outdoor pools are eight free-standing private individual spa treatment chalets offering treatments and massages inspired by various cultures. Located within the main Mystic Spa building, guests have access to 21 treatment rooms that focus on body and foot massages, as well as access to a health food restaurant.

A theme across the whole resort is health and wellness, symbolized by the wide use of jade across the resort’s buildings. Jade is seen to be an important symbol of purity in Chinese culture and the Chinese believe that these precious jewels can help promote physical health and maintain mental balance. This theme transcends to Mystic Spa through the use of spa products exclusively provided by Ba Yan Ka La. Ba Yan Ka La is named after a mountain range on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, and explores the nature of China across its products including glacial mineral water and traditional Chinese medicines like Chinese mulberry (detoxifying), liquorice (balancing), goji berry (strengthening), lotus seed (nourishing) and Tibetan roseroot (anti-oxidant).

Demand for Sheraton Surges in Greater China

Leveraging on its first-mover advantage, the global powerhouse currently has 63 hotels and resorts in Greater China and 42 in the pipeline. As the dominant upper-upscale hotel brand in Greater China, the 15 existing Sheraton resorts have more than surpassed the sum of resort offerings from competitive international brands such as Hilton, Hyatt Regency and Marriott.

Other notable Sheraton resort openings include the brand’s first resort in the region – Sheraton Sanya Resort, urban resorts such as Sheraton Dameisha Resort, Shenzhen and Sheraton Guangzhou Huadu Resort and ski resort such as Sheraton Changbaishan Resort. In response to the strong demand for its resort products, Sheraton will also be adding five more stunning resorts to its current portfolio of 15 over the next three years. Four resorts, including Sheraton Diqing Resort, Sheraton Sanya Tufu Bay Resort, Sheraton Ningbo Xiangshan Resort and Sheraton Beijing West Mountain resort are due to open by the end of 2015, widening its lead as the dominant upper upscale hotel brand in Greater China.

About Sheraton Hotels & Resorts

Sheraton helps guests make connections at more than 400 hotels in nearly 70 countries around the world. The brand recently completed a $6 billion global revitalization and is now in the midst of an $8 billion global expansion over the next three years. Sheraton is owned by and is the largest and most global brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with nearly 1,200 properties in 100 countries and 181,400 employees at its owned and managed properties.  Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands:  St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, and Element®.  The Company boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates.  Starwood also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands.  For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.