aloft Montreal Airport Opens, Making Global Lifestyle Debut

aloha! Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) and its much-anticipated new lifestyle brand, aloftsm hotels, today announces the opening of aloft Montreal Airport, the first aloft to open anywhere in the world. Developed and owned by the joint venture between Silver Hotel Group and Northampton Group Inc., the 136-room aloft Montreal Airport will offer a variety of intuitive technologies, atmospheric public spaces, and a whole array of appealing guest amenities. Created for today’s traveler, aloft hotels are modern, fresh and fun, with loft-inspired design and free-flowing energy. "The sleekness and dynamism of the aloft lifestyle complements the sophistication and style of Montreal, where we are proud to make our global debut,” said Brian McGuinness, Vice President of aloft and element hotels worldwide. "Youthful-minded travelers will appreciate the aloft brand’s emphasis on creativity, culture and fun.” aloft Montreal Airport is superbly located at the entrance to the Trudeau International Airport, with easy access to local attractions, shopping, entertainment and numerous corporate headquarters. Guests will be just 20 minutes from vibrant downtown Montreal, where they can enjoy authentic French cuisine, renowned museums and scenic parks. Also nearby are the quaint cobblestone streets, boutiques, art galleries and cafés of Old Montreal. "Montreal is the ideal location for aloft, a new lifestyle brand that we know will quickly become the choice for travelers in the know,” said Deepak Ruparell, President, Silver Hotel Group. "With today’s opening, a whole new travel experience begins.” "Opening aloft here complements the chic and stylish essence of Montreal. We can’t wait to say aloha to our guests,” said Vinnie Patel, Chief Executive Officer, Northampton Group of Hotels. As a Vision of W Hotels, aloft hotels are shaking up the lodging industry with urban-influenced design, accessible technology, style and a social atmosphere. aloft hotels offer a total sensory experience, with guest rooms featuring loft-like nine-foot ceilings and oversized windows to create a bright, airy environment. The centerpiece of each aloft room is the ultra-comfortable plush platform bed, and large stylish bathrooms complement the guest experience with oversized walk-in showers and amenities created by bliss® spa. Each aloft room is also a combination high-tech office and entertainment center, featuring wireless internet access and plug & play, a one-stop connectivity solution for multiple electronic gadgetry such as PDAs, cell phones, mp3 players and laptops - all linked to a large flat panel LCD television for optimal sound and viewing. Designed in conjunction with world renowned David Rockwell and the Rockwell Group, aloft stays true to the W Hotel brand’s heritage, offering atmospheric public spaces designed to draw guests from their rooms to socialize and make friends. Guests can read the paper, work on their laptops via hotel-wide wireless internet access, play a game of pool or grab a drink with friends at the re:mixSM communal lobby area and bar w xyzSM. The re:chargeSM fitness center and splash, the indoor or outdoor pool, give travelers options to de-stress and re-energize; while re:fuel by aloftSM, a one-stop food and beverage area, offers sweet, savory and healthy food, snacks and beverages to grab & go, 24-hours a day. About aloft An instant hit in the development community, the first aloft hotels are scheduled to open in summer 2008. The aloft brand has already announced 88 development projects, in more than 10 countries. In 2009, the aloft brand will continue its momentum with the opening of more than 50 hotels broadening the international footprint and domestically positioning aloft hotels in markets previously under penetrated. Following the debut of this very first aloft hotel in Montreal, Canada, several others are scheduled to open shortly in Chicago O’Hare, IL, Minneapolis, MN, Philadelphia Airport, PA, Lexington, MA, Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga, CA, Rogers-Bentonville, AR as well as Beijing, China. aloft hotels scheduled to open in 2009 are in Brooklyn, NY, Denver International Airport, CO, Dallas, TX, Atlanta, GA, Las Vegas, NV and Toronto, Canada. For more information on aloft hotels, visit www.alofthotels.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 ElementSM. 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. About Silver Hotel Group Silver Hotel Group (SHG) is one of the largest privately owned hotel investment, development,and management companies in Canada. The group has been an active participant in the hospitality industry in the U.S. and Canada for over 30 years. For more information please visit www.silverhotel.ca. About Northampton Group Inc Northampton Group Inc. (TSX-V: NHG) is one of Canada's top mid-market hoteliers. Focused on creating the best return for all stakeholders, Northampton’s proven, market-sensitive strategy is to acquire or build hotels that provide great value and superior accommodation. Northampton excels in this sector, offering services that exceed expectations while still posting industry-leading margins. For more information please visit www.nhgi.com. (Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and involve risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks and uncertainties are presented in detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained or that results and events will not materially differ. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.)