Westin Hotels & Resorts

ORLANDO, Fla. |Starwood Vacation Ownership(R) (SVO), a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.(R) (NYSE: HOT), today announced plans for its third property in Latin America, The Westin(R) Los Cabos Ocean Villas. The property will be the first vacation ownership resort in Los Cabos, Mexico developed by a major U.S. lodging company.

The vacation ownership resort is adjacent to The Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos overlooking the Sea of Cortez. Owners of the Villas will have full access to the hotel's signature amenities, including multiple restaurants, pools, spa and golf, as well as access to the Villa amenities including pools, restaurants and The Westin WORKOUT(R) Powered by Reebok(R) fitness facility. Construction and sales of the resort will begin in 2007.

"We are excited to extend our presence in Mexico and build another Westin Vacation Ownership resort adjacent to the renowned Westin Resort & Spa in Los Cabos," said Sergio Rivera, president of real estate development, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. "As Starwood is one of the oldest and most prominent hotel companies in the country, Mexico is an important market for us. A vacation ownership resort is a natural compliment to The Westin Resort and offers guests the benefit of owning a piece of one of the world's premier destinations."

Starwood Vacation Ownership was also the first major U.S. lodging company to develop a vacation ownership resort in Cancun, Mexico: The Westin Lagunamar Ocean Resort. The resort is currently under construction and will include 295 two-bedroom lock off villas upon completion. In addition, SVO will soon begin construction on the St. Regis(R) Residence Club, Punta Mita, a luxurious mixed-use property including a St. Regis hotel, whole ownership residences and the St. Regis Residence Club, dramatically set on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. The Residence Club will feature roughly 40 free-standing villas, with sales scheduled to begin in 2007.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts
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 Meridien(R) and the recently announced Aloft(SM) and Element(SM) 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 .

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.

David Matheson
914/640-5204
Starwood