WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. / Oct. 2, 2001--The Westin Beechwood, Fort Worth's first luxury suburban hotel, officially opens for business today and is now ready to take the driver's seat in providing top-quality service and accommodations for the region.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. HOT manages and operates the hotel under the Westin brand for Beechwood Company, the owners and developers of the hotel.

Situated directly across from the Texas Motor Speedway, the nation's second-largest sporting venue, the property is part of the Beechwood Business Park, a 902-acre master-planned commercial development on the northern edge of Fort Worth which includes a championship 18-hole golf course. The hotel is located twenty miles north of downtown Fort Worth and just thirty minutes from the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

"We are thrilled to open The Westin Beechwood in the flourishing North Fort Worth region as part of the Beechwood Business Park development," remarked Norman MacLeod, executive vice president of operations for Starwood. "Westin has enjoyed a presence in Texas for more than 25 years and we are proud to add The Westin Beechwood to our Westins of Texas portfolio." Starwood now owns, manages or franchises 26 hotels in Texas including eight Westins.

Each of the 286 guest rooms, including nine executive suites, two hospitality suites and a presidential suite, are beautifully appointed and decorated in a contemporary southwestern style with a blend of tan, gold, rust and green earth tones, with many offering panoramic views of the Creeks at Beechwood golf course. All guest rooms are equipped with cordless phones, dual-line telephones with voice messaging, a large work area with a data port for Internet access, refreshment center, cable television, in-room movies, safe, clock radio, coffee maker featuring Starbucks coffee, hair dryer, and iron and ironing board. Additionally, the highly acclaimed signature Westin Heavenly Bed® is featured in all rooms, providing an oasis for weary travelers. Westin's Heavenly Bed consists of a custom designed, pillow-top mattress set; cozy down blanket; high quality, high thread count linens; crisp white duvet coverlet and five queen-size and king-size pillows. Select rooms also highlight Westin's latest guest room innovation, the Heavenly Bath(TM), a custom-designed shower with a dual showerhead to provide more power and wider water coverage and a specially-designed curved shower rod allowing more elbowroom to eliminate the "dreaded shower curtain cling."

For recreation, hotel guests can enjoy the Creeks at Beechwood golf course, a world-class 18-hole Greg Norman-designed course surrounding the hotel - another key element of the Beechwood Business Park. The course opened in October 2000 and is managed by Troon Golf of Scottsdale, Arizona, the industry's leading golf course management company. Other recreational facilities include an outdoor Olympic-sized swimming pool and a health club.

The hotel's 22,000-square-foot conference center is a perfect venue for meetings and can accommodate groups up to 700. The conference center consists of the 9,000-square-foot Trinity ballroom that can be divided into three separate rooms, two 1,500-square-foot meeting rooms (can be divided into two sections each), five 1,000-square-foot breakout rooms, two executive board rooms and more than 4,000 square feet of pre-function space and 5,000 square feet of outdoor event space. All meeting rooms provide state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment, offer high-speed Internet access and T-1 line, video conferencing and satellite connection capabilities. Additionally, for those seeking a truly unique reception venue, groups can also reserve prime space at the Texas Motor Speedway in either the NASCAR garage or at one of the pit stops.

For dining, there is the Creek Side Cafe, a full-service restaurant serving contemporary American Cuisine with a Texas flair and the Blue Moon Lounge which provides a place to gather and enjoy cocktails, appetizers and a light fare menu. Other guest services include a 24-hour room service, a full-service concierge, business center, W.H. Smith gift shop and valet parking.

Guests of The Westin Beechwood will also enjoy added benefits offered only by Westin. Service Express®, a "one call does it all" concept, allows guests to dial just one number on their telephone to order 24-hour room service, call the bellman or room attendant, or have any other request filled. Additionally, The Westin Beechwood keeps in mind the special needs of families traveling with children with the Westin Kids Club® program and Westin's Heavenly Crib(TM) product. Westin Kids Club® includes provisions for children's safety and security, as well as conveniences designed to make overnight and dining experiences more enjoyable, while the Heavenly Crib(TM), inspired by Westin's Heavenly Bed®, provides infants and toddlers with one of the safest and most stylish cribs in the industry.

Guests who stay at The Westin Beechwood are able to earn their way toward free travel in Starwood's frequent guest program, Starwood Preferred Guest, which is consistently rated the best hotel frequency program in the world. With more than 700 participating hotels and resorts around the world, the program is the industry's most global and offers a structure focused on simplicity, flexibility in redemption options and inclusion of all of Starwood's brands.

"We are committed to providing a new level of superior service and accommodations to the Fort Worth region," remarks Drew McQuade, general manager of The Westin Beechwood. "Our luxury facilities and amenities, together with the Creeks of Beechwood golf course, the Beechwood Business Park and the Texas Motor Speedway, provide a wonderful destination spot for business and leisure travelers alike."

Westin Hotels & Resorts, with more than 120 hotels and resorts in 26 countries, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. For the second year in a row, the brand has been named number one in the upper-upscale category of Business Travel News' "2000 Survey of Top Hotel Chains."

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 725 properties in 80 countries and 120,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchiser 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.starwoodhotels.com.

Ellen Gallo
914/640-8167
Starwood