Starwood Hotels & Resorts Continues Expansion in Russia with the Debut of Aloft Hotels in St. Petersburg

"Top 25 Trendiest Hotels in the US and around the world."

Owned by Remstroyintour LLC and Ludmila Kudryavtseva, Aloft St. Petersburg will be located in an emerging business district within close proximity to galleries, restaurants and green spaces, and will offer an entirely new approach to hospitality in the city of St. Petersburg. This deal was announced earlier today at a press conference in Moscow with Starwood President & CEO Frits van Paasschen and Roeland Vos, President of the company's Europe, Africa and Middle East (EAME) Division.

"We are delighted to partner with Remstroyintour LLC and Ludmila Kudryavtseva to open the first Aloft hotel in the country," said Vos. "We see great opportunities to grow our Aloft portfolio in markets like Russia where there is a strong demand for affordable yet stylish, innovative hotel brands. The signing of Aloft St. Petersburg underlines Starwood's continued commitment to expanding our portfolio of mid-market brands in Russia and throughout Europe."

A vision of W Hotels, Aloft has been an industry game-changer since its 2008 debut. Its vibrant "style at a steal" brand proposition is geared toward the next generation of travellers, pioneering initiatives in music, design and technology, while providing modern comforts and a fun social guest experience. The Aloft brand consistently garners high guest satisfaction scores, with select hotels ranking among TripAdvisor's 2012 "Top 25 Trendiest Hotels in the US and around the world."

"Aloft has become a popular choice for owners and developers looking to fill the void in the mid-market hotel category," said Bart Carnahan, Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Development, Europe, Africa and Middle East Division, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. "We are focused on growing Aloft in secondary and tertiary markets throughout Russia and CIS, where we see the greatest demand for an alternative to the mid-market category."

"I am pleased to partner with Starwood to bring the Aloft brand to Russia. This hotel will start a new page in the history of the Russian hotel industry," commented owner Ludmila Kudryavtseva.

Situated in the northern part of the city overlooking the Neva River, Aloft St. Petersburg will offer atmospheric public spaces where guests can mix and mingle, read the paper, work on laptops, play a game of pool or grab a drink with friends at the re:mix^SM lounge and w xyz^SM bar.

All 200 loft-like guest rooms will feature the brand's signature high ceilings, oversized windows and an ultra-comfortable platform bed as well as large walk-in showers with complimentary Bliss Spa^®products. Guests will be able to re-energise in the re:charge^SMfitness centre and grab a bite to eat at re:fuel by Aloft^SM, a one-stop, 24-hour grab-and-go food and beverage area, offering sweet, savoury and healthy food, snacks and drinks. For work meetings, training courses and presentations, the hotel's two board rooms will be equipped with the latest generation of audio-visual hardware.

Starwood currently operates three hotels in Russia, including Hotel National, a Luxury Collection Hotel and the Sheraton Palace Hotel in Moscow, as well as the recently opened W Hotel in St. Petersburg. Aloft St. Petersburg will be Starwood's second hotel in the city.

About Aloft Hotels

With more than 60 hotels in 10 countries, Aloft has changed the hotel landscape by offering "style at a steal" everywhere from Baltimore to Beijing to Bogota to Brussels – and everywhere in between. For more information, please visit www.alofthotels.com.

Aloft, like all brands within Starwood's portfolio, is proud to offer the Starwood Preferred Guest^(R) program, which offers a breakthrough policy of no blackout dates on Free Night Awards. To learn more, please visit www.spg.com.