- Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa named 2007's Hotel of the Year -

15th September 2008, Dubai, UAE: Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa once again reigned supreme at the Annual Starwood Awards in Brussels, taking home three accolades, including the highly sought after, "2007 Le Meridien Hotel of the Year" for the second year running. The hotel was additionally recognized as the best hotel in the Le Meridien chain in the EMEA region, and awarded the "EMEA Human Truths Award" for guest satisfaction.

"The leisure and hospitality industry is increasingly becoming more competitive with hotels across the world constantly upping the bar in terms of guest satisfaction and service levels. For Le Royal Meridien to receive these awards demonstrates the constant hard work and extra mile that our associates are willing to go on a daily basis to help ensure we remain at the top," stated Pam Wilby, general manager Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa and Grosvenor House, Dubai. 

The Starwood Awards are part of the Annual Starwood conference held annually at one of the global properties. Attended by over 400 delegates worldwide, the six-day conference presents leading executives with the opportunity to take part in workshops and presentations that illustrate the impact and integration of the new Starwood brand strategies into operations. The presentations include key learnings on sales, marketing, finance, human resources and best practice initiatives within the Starwood brand.

"Starwood operates across more than 100 countries worldwide and the annual conference is a fantastic forum for us to get together and share ideas on the future of our industry - especially in light of the difficulties some economies are facing," added Wilby. "Tourism is a driving factor for many countries and we need to look at how our industry on a global scale can move with the markets. At Le Royal Meridien we will ensure that guest satisfaction remains top of the agenda, and we look forward to continued growth with Dubai."

Throughout 2008 Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa has received several highly acclaimed awards, including being crowned the "World's Leading Beach Resort" at the 2007 World Travel Awards.

-Ends-

About Le Méridien
Le Méridien brand, currently represented by approximately 120 properties   in 52 countries, was acquired by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in November 2005.  With close to 70 percent of its properties located in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, Le Méridien provides a strong international complement to Starwood's primarily North American holdings.  Plans call for dynamic expansion of Le Méridien-branded hotels within the next five years, concentrating in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, including destinations such as India, Thailand and China. For more information, please visit www.lemeridien.com 

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 900 properties in more than 100 countries and 155,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels 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, and the recently launched AloftSM, and Element SM.  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 www.starwoodhotels.com.

For media information regarding Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa Dubai:
Kaja Weller or Iman Issa,
Hill & Knowlton
Tel 971 4 3344930,
fax 971 4 3344923
Email:kaja.weller@hillandknowlton.com
or iman.issa@hillandknowlton.com

© Press Release 2008