16 October 2008, Doha, Qatar - Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Al Muttahed Co. are pleased to announce the opening of three towers of the 'all suites' eight tower Le Mridien hotel in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The additional five towers are expected to open by the end of 2009. A total of four towers will be an 'all suites' hotel and the remaining four towers will be sold as vacation ownership by the owning company Al Muttahed.

The 'all suites' hotel will feature three different types of luxurious suites such as Executive Suites, Diplomatic Suites and the Royal Suites. The 95-square-meter Royal Suites possess the largest floor space of all suites, having two separate bedrooms, a spacious seating area, three bathrooms and a kitchen. Each tower will consist of an average of 165 suites making it a grand total of 1,320 elegantly positioned suites.  All suites are designed by the renowned Richmond International in London with an exquisite combination of classic and modern design complimented by an extra touch of Islamic patterns.

The splendid new property is connected to the Haram, an inviolate zone with sanctuaries, by a 1,700-meter tunnel which is only a ten-minute trip with round the clock shuttle service. The hotel's unique location provides easy access to holy places in Makkah such as Mena, Muzdalifah and Arafat.             

Le Mridien Towers Makkah today offers two specialty restaurants that provide scrumptious Moroccan and Asian delights and are expecting to open a third restaurant offering specialties from the Gulf area in the next coming year. The Moroccan Restaurant exudes traditional Moroccan architecture with Moroccan arches serving the most delectable dishes with intensive flavors and spices.

The new hotel will also extend extensive banquet facilities featuring the latest in modern technology and state of the art health club with an indoor swimming pool.

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About Le Mridien:
Le Mridien brand, currently represented by 110 properties in 50 countries, was acquired by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. in November 2005. With close to 80 of its properties located in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Le Mridien provides a strong international complement to Starwood's primarily North American holdings. Plans call for dynamic expansion of Le Mridien hotels and resorts within the next five years, concentrating in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, including destinations such as India, Thailand and China.  Le Mridien plans to open new hotels in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Dallas in the coming months, and has recently signed new hotel deals in Taipei and Xiamen, China.

For more information, please visit www.leMridien.com. 

About Starwood Hotels and 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 Mridien, 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.starwoodpressclub.com.

Press Contact:
Luis Zapanta
eCommerce & PR
Sheraton Doha Resort & Convention Hotel
P.O. Box 6000
Tel. No.: +974 485 4501
Fax No.: +974 483 8771
Mobile: +974 581 5408
eMail: luis.zapanta@sheraton.com
Website: http://www.sheraton.com/doha

Press Release 2008