Modern Luxury Comes to the Queen City with the Official Opening of the Westin Charlotte

Located in Charlotte's burgeoning business and entertainment district and adjacent to the Charlotte Convention Center, The Westin Charlotte is the city's newest, most luxurious hotel. All of the hotel's guest rooms and suites feature the brand's signature Heavenly Bed(R), Heavenly Bath(R) and numerous other guest amenities including Westin Service Express(R), Westin One Call(R) and Westin Workout(SM).

With more than 44,000 square feet of convention facilities boasting the city's largest hotel ballroom at 16,276 square feet, The Westin Charlotte will play a dominant role in the city's ability to attract large meetings and conventions. High-speed Internet access is offered in all guest rooms and meeting spaces.

"Charlotte is an important travel market for Westin. It attracts both leisure and business travelers as one of the Southeast's major business, financial and cultural centers," said Sue Brush, senior vice president of Westin Hotels & Resorts, North America.

The centerpiece of the hotel lobby is an exquisitely designed chandelier named "Aspiration" created for the hotel by Portman. "Charlotte is ready to leap forward," Portman said. "I designed and named this piece in recognition of Charlotte's great aspirations."

The chandelier, truly a sight to behold, is constructed of stainless steel and Crystal Ice acrylic shingles. Other custom art pieces in the hotel designed by Portman include "Nocturne," a painting that hangs in the lobby, and "Trolley Lines," a large mural that will decorate the hotel's trolley stop located on the second level.

In addition to its unique design elements, the hotel also features "fire and ice," a unique food and beverage outlet theme. With "fire" at the Ember Grille restaurant and "ice" at Bar10, the hotel intends to attract local patrons as well as hotel guests. Ember Grille, with an open kitchen and outdoor terrace, has an eclectic menu with a fiery wood-burning oven and rotisserie. Bar10 lies alongside a soothing waterscape and offers a relaxing atmosphere and light fare.

Westin Hotels & Resorts, with more than 110 hotels and resorts in 26 countries, 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 more than 750 properties in more than 80 countries and 105,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwood.com.