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Press Release: Starwood Vacation Ownership (SVO)
June 27, 2006
ORLANDO, FL -- Starwood Vacation Ownership (SVO), a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT),
yesterday announced it has finalized the acquisition of 28.7 acres in the established Desert Willow development
from Intrawest Corporation (NYSE:IDR). Starwood Vacation Ownership will build a Westin-branded vacation ownership
resort within the upscale Palm Desert, California development.
"We are excited to extend our presence in southern California with our second Westin-branded vacation ownership
resort in the area. Desert Willow is a tremendous location in an important market which is a proven winner for
high-end vacation ownership resorts," said Raymond L. "Rip" Gellein, Jr., chief executive officer
of Starwood Vacation Ownership.
Centrally located within Palm Desert, Desert Willow Golf Resort offers spectacular views of the surrounding mountains
and has won numerous accolades for its course design and commitment to protect the environment. Owned by the city
of Palm Desert, the two championship courses are among the best public golf courses in the country. The Westin
Vacation Ownership resort will include luxury villas, a clubhouse and reception building, a lavish swimming pool
and expansive grounds, a game room, a fitness center and a sales center. Construction is scheduled to begin on
the new villas in 2007 with preconstruction sales to begin later this year. The design of the villas and sales
center will complement the existing architecture and style of Desert Willow. Starwood Vacation Ownership sold out
its first vacation ownership resort in the region, the Westin Mission Hills Resort & Villas, in 2005 and continues
to operate that property.
This will be the eighth Westin Vacation Ownership resort either completed or in development including resorts in
Maui; Kauai; California; Arizona; Cancun; St. John, USVI; and Aruba. In addition to Westin, SVO is developing vacation
ownership resorts under the Sheraton brand and high-end fractional residences under the St. Regis brand.
Intrawest currently has a high-end vacation ownership resort, Club Intrawest, on the adjoining property and has
retained land to complete an expansion planned for doubling the number of Luxury Vacation Homes at Desert Willow.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with
approximately 850 properties in more than 95 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.
Starwood® Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following
internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, Sheraton®, Westin®, Four Points®
by Sheraton, W®, Le Meridien® and the recently announced aloft(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.
(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.)
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Contact:
Starwood Vacation Ownership (SVO)
David N. Matheson, 407-903-4295
david.matheson@starwoodvo.com
or
Yui+Co.
Ellen Yui, 301-270-8571
ellenyui@yuico.com
or
Elizabeth Kelley Grace, 561-989-9855
lizkgrace@aol.com
Source: Starwood Vacation Ownership (SVO)