W Hotels Heads to the Las Vegas of Asia with W Macao Studio City

W Hotels Heads to the Las Vegas of Asia with W Macao Studio City

August 14, 2007

The World's Fastest Growing Luxury Hotel Brand Signs Deal
to Open Fourth Property in China; W Macao-Studio City to
open in 2009


    SINGAPORE, Aug. 14 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- In its
continued demand to select only world class destinations,
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT)
today announced plans for a new W Hotel in Macao, further
solidifying the brand's extensive and rapidly growing
global footprint.  Scheduled to open in early 2009, this
new-build W hotel will be located within the Macao Studio
City complex, situated on Cotai, an area earmarked by the
Macao government to become one of the main gaming,
entertainment and resort developments in the Special
Administrative Region.  W Macao Studio City will make its
debut in 2009, offering 563 guest rooms, in addition to the
innovative design and full-range of branded amenities guests
have come to expect of W Hotels. 

    Designed by Charles Allem of Charles Allem Designs
International in co-operation with the W brands's award
winning design team, W Macao Studio City will be an
exciting keystone of this new development on Cotai.  W
Macao Studio City is poised to strengthen Starwood's
presence in Macao, as well as being an integral part of a
new flagship development in the new "Las Vegas of
Asia."    

    "W continues to extend beyond the boundaries of
everyday travel, offering a magical mix of sexy
destinations and sublime design," said Ross Klein,
President of Starwood's Luxury Brands Group. "W Macao
marks our fourth property in China and promises to offer
extraordinary experiences at every turn through the brand's
key lifestyle elements of provocative spaces, delightful
indulgences and experiential surprises. From the Maldives
to Milan, Hoboken to Hong Kong, W Hotels continues to go
global as the influential and innovative lifestyle
authority and we are proud to make Macao a W
destination."

    "Following the announcements of the Ws in Hong
Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou, W Macao Studio City is a
logical extension of W's dynamic growth in China,"
said Miguel Ko, President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts,
Asia Pacific.  "W brings to life its own unique
positioning, delivering a differentiated travel experience
for travelers and will be an irresistible destination for
visitors to Macao.  Macao provides guests with a wealth of
entertainment options, including world-class shopping and
proximity to Macao and China's most popular attractions,
making it a perfect fit for the W brand", added Ko.  

    "Macao Studio City brings together the best hotel
partners in the world and we are excited to partner with
Starwood to bring the W to Macao," said Peter Lam,
co-chairman of Macao Studio City. "Our vision is to
create a must-see, must-stay and must-return destination
for leisure and business travelers around the world. Along
with other hotel partners - not to mention the arrival of
the Playboy Mansion Macao - I firmly believe that Macao
Studio City will be an experience that visitors will want
to return again and again."

    "W will captivate an in-crowd of
lifestyle-oriented travelers by offering its special blend
of warm, witty and worldly experiences. The brand fits in
very well with the overall design and direction of Macao
Studio City and its positioning as the coolest place to be
in Macao. Macao Studio City will be the place where the
stars and celebrities will hang out," said David
Friedman, co-chairman and co-chief executive officer of
Macao Studio City

    "The Cotai area is seeing great momentum, and the
addition of W Macao Studio City is certainly going to
attract stylish and trendy customers who seek innovative
design, comfort and cultural influences, to the `new
Macao'," said Mr. Ambrose Cheung, co-chief executive
officer, Macao Studio City.  "Macao Studio City is
developing at a rapid pace; our recent announcements have
brought other world-class brands in entertainment, retail
and hospitality to the complex.  We are confident that W
Macao Studio City, as well as the Macao Studio City complex
itself, will be a tremendous success when it opens in
mid-2009."

    W Macao Studio City will be an exciting addition to the
brand's fast-growing international collection of hotels in
the world's most vibrant cities and emerging destinations.
Starwood has also recently announced it will open a
4,000-room Sheraton Macao Hotel, a 460-room St. Regis Hotel
and over 400 St. Regis Residences on the strip in 2008 and
2009 respectively. 

    W Macao Studio City will feature 563 rooms and suites,
all outfitted with the W signature bed, plasma television
and wireless Internet access. The W brand's signature
Living Room will offer a lounge-like atmosphere perfect for
reading the paper, sipping a cappuccino or enjoying a
cocktail with friends.  Other facilities will include a
signature restaurant, W Caf¨¦, a Sweat workout facility,
approximately 11,000 square feet of meeting space, an
outdoor heated pool, and the W Whatever/Whenever service,
the hotel's 24-hour concierge that provides whatever guests
want - from a pair of running shoes to private jet service -
whenever they want.

    Macao is a Special Administrative Region of People's
Republic of China.  It is located on the Southeast coast of
China and the western bank of the Pearl River Delta.
Bordering on Guangdong Province, it is located 40 miles
from Hong Kong and 90 miles from the city of Guangzhou. 
With the removal of the casino gaming monopoly in Macao in
December 2001, new casino developments are quickly
establishing Cotai as the `new Las Vegas of Asia'.
 
    About W Hotels Worldwide

    W Hotels is a global lifestyle brand with 21 properties
in the most vibrant cities around the world. Inspiring and
indulging its guests with thoughtful, refreshing and
stylish experiences, signature restaurants, bars and
destination spas, W has become the fastest growing luxury
hotel brand in the world. Each hotel offers a unique mix of
innovative design, comfort, and cultural influences from
fashion to music to art and everything in between. The W
brand's first residential property, W Dallas-Victory,
opened in June of 2006, and soon thereafter was named a
Forbes Magazine "Top Business Hotel." W
Residences, offering the W lifestyle at home, have been
announced for Scottsdale (2008), Midtown Atlanta (2008),
Fort Lauderdale (2008), Buckhead (2008), Hoboken (2008),
Downtown Atlanta (2009), Downtown New York (2009), South
Beach (2009), Phoenix (2009), Hollywood (2009),
Philadelphia (2009), and Austin (2010). Internationally, W
has announced plans for hotels in Istanbul (2008), Doha
(2008), Hong Kong (2008), St. Petersburg (2008), Athens
(2008), Santiago (2008), Milan (2008), Dubai-Festival City
(2008), Shanghai (2009), Barcelona (2009), Guangzhou
(2010), and Dubai-The Palm (2010). W's first Retreat &
Spa, W Maldives, opened in September of 2006 and in March
of 2007, received the prestigious Travel + Leisure Design
Award for Best Resort.  W has plans to open Retreat &
Spa hotels in Vieques (2008), Koh Samui (2008), and Verbier
(2010), the latter of which will serve as W's first ski
retreat. For more information, visit http://www.whotels.com
.

    About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

    Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.(R) 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 M¨¦ridien(R) and the recently announced
AloftSM and ElementSM Hotels. 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
http://www.starwoodhotels.com

    About Macao Studio City 

    Macao Studio City is Asia's first leisure resort
property with studio, retail, entertainment and world-class
hotels, such as The Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, W and The Tang
Hotel.  Macao Studio City is being developed by Cyber One
Agents Limited, a joint venture between New Cotai, LLC and
East Asia Satellite Television Holdings, a subsidiary of
Hong Kong-based eSun Holdings ("eSun"; stock
code: 571). Singapore's CapitaLand owns 33.3 per cent of
East Asia Satellite Television Holdings while eSun Holdings
owns the remaining 66.7 per cent.

    eSun Holdings is one of Asia's leading media and
entertainment companies and an associate company of Lai Sun
Development ("LSD"; stock code: 488), a leading
hotel and property developer. Both companies are part of
Hong Kong's Lai Sun Group. 

    New Cotai, LLC is a consortium of US-based investors
including the co-chairman and co-chief executive officer of
Macao Studio City, David Friedman. Mr. Friedman is a veteran
resort and gaming developer who led Las Vegas Sands' entry
into Macao. The funds of New Cotai, LLC are managed by
Silver Point Capital, L.P., a private US-based investment
firm, and Oaktree Capital Management, LLC, a global
independent investment management firm.

    CapitaLand is one of the largest listed real estate
companies in Asia. Headquartered in Singapore, the
multinational company's core businesses in real estate,
hospitality and real estate financial services are focused
in gateway cities in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle
East. The company's real estate and hospitality portfolio
spans more than 90 cities in over 20 countries. CapitaLand
also leverages on its significant real estate asset base,
financial skills and market knowledge to develop real
estate financial products and services in Singapore and the
region.

    For more information, please visit
http://www.macaostudiocity.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.)







    For more inforamation, please contact:

     Hwee Peng Yeo, Director, 
     Corporate Communications, Asia Pacific
     Tel:   [phone] 
     Email: [e-mail]

     Jenni Benzaquen, Director of PR
     Luxury Brands Group
     Tel:   [phone] 
     Email: [e-mail]