New Rooftop Culinary Experience Offers Innovative Mediterranean Cuisine and Breathtaking Views of the Arno River and City of Florence

Company Website: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/index.html
FLORENCE, Italy -- (Business Wire)

Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announced the re-opening of SE•STO on Arno, a new rooftop culinary experience at the iconic Westin Excelsior in Florence. Following a €3.3 million restoration, SE•STO on Arno overlooks the Arno River and offers enchanting views of the city, rooftops, churches, bell towers of Florence, Ponte Vecchio and the picturesque hills of Tuscany.

Robert Koren, Vice President and Regional Director of Operations for Starwood Hotels Italy and Central Mediterranean, comments: “We are delighted to re-open SE•STO on Arno at the Westin Excelsior in Florence. With a contemporary point of view on Italian and Mediterranean cuisine and spectacular views of Florence, we are confident that SE•STO on Arno will be extremely popular among our international guests and local residents alike.”

Set atop the Westin Excelsior Florence and made almost entirely of glass, SE•STO on Arno offers a dedicated bar for the Italian aperitivo ritual as well as a vibrant restaurant, both surrounded by two spacious terraces. SE•STO on Arno also features designs inspired by the Sixties era with oversized windows, warm and colourful interiors enriched with wooden floors and ceilings, and a curved bar made of wood and alabaster, backlit with bronzed steel inserts.

Open daily for lunch and dinner, SE•STO on Arno features an innovative Mediterranean-style menu offering guests a wide selection of dishes made with fresh seasonal products and accompanied by a prestigious new wine list offering a selection of Italian and international wines. All dishes are creatively curated by Executive Chef Enziana Osmenzeza, a young and dynamic chef who has worked alongside some of the world’s most renowned Michelin-starred chefs including Chef Gualtiero Marchesi, Chef Fulvio Pierangelini and Chef Alain Ducasse.

Whether indoors or outdoors, SE•STO on Arno offers the perfect place for guests and local residents to unwind from a long day and enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the city while dining, sipping a glass of wine or enjoying a variety of signature cocktails.

Formerly a 13^th century mansion, the hotel combines eight centuries of Florentine history with contemporary accommodations with the full suite of Westin signature amenities and services. The sensory-rich environment at Westin offers a respite from the rigors of travel and sets a welcoming tone. Westin’s innovative programs and instinctive service transform every aspect of a guest’s stay into a revitalizing experience with a better you in mind. All guestrooms feature the world-renowned Westin Heavenly^® Bed – an oasis of lush sheets, down and a patented pillow-top mattress, which cradles and contours to the body for complete comfort. Signature services including exclusive SuperFoodsRX® menus, the industry-leading WestinWORKOUT® and the Heavenly® Bath enhanced with the brand’s Heavenly® Shower, Heavenly® Robe and White Tea Aloe bath amenities have been designed to ensure guests stay relaxed, refreshed and leave feeling better than when they arrived. In-room, high-speed Internet access and an ergonomic work space offer travelers convenience and productivity in a tranquil setting.

Westin Hotels & Resorts, like all brands within Starwood’s robust portfolio, is proud to offer the Starwood Preferred Guest^® program, which made headlines when it launched in 1999 with a breakthrough policy of no blackout dates on Free Night Awards. SPG^® offers members the ability to redeem awards at more resorts, more luxury properties, more European hotels and more golf properties than any other hotel program.

For reservations, call +39 055 27151 or email info@sestoonarno.com. For further information, please visitwww.westinflorence.com.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts currently has 27 hotels in Italy under six of its nine brands, including the recently opened St. Regis Florence and Sheraton Milan Malpensa Airport Hotel and Conference Centre, the soon-to-reopen Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Venice, as well as the historic St. Regis Rome and The Westin Palace in Milan.

About Westin Hotels & Resorts

Westin Hotels & Resorts offers innovative programs that transform every aspect of a stay into a revitalizing experience. All Westin signature services – like the Heavenly Bed, delicious SuperFoods and WestinWorkout studio – have been designed with the guests’ well-being in mind. Westin hotels,with more than 186 hotels and resorts in nearly 40 countries and territories, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT). Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,103 properties in nearly 100 countries and 154,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood 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, Aloft^®, and Element^SM. The Company boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands. For more information, please visit www.westin.com

Contacts:

Starwood Italy
Sara Migliore, +39 02 6336 3641
Public Relations Manager
sara.migliore@starwoodhotels.com

Source: Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Inc.