Starwood is constructing a $40-million, 203-room Westin Beale Street Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. The first Westin hotel in the city.

Located directly across from the FedExForum, home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team, The Westin Beale Street will be Tennessee’s first Westin and the first upper-upscale branded hotel to be built in the Memphis metro area in more than twenty years.

The hotel will be managed by Senate, franchised as a Westin under a long-term license agreement and is expected to be completed during the first quarter 2007.

“We are thrilled to add The Westin Beale Street to our fast-growing portfolio of hotels and to be present in such a vibrant and energetic section of Memphis,” said Sue Brush, senior vice president of Westin Hotels & Resorts.

“We look forward to offering Westin’s distinctive renewal experience to business, group and leisure travelers.”

“This is going to be an exceptional hotel in an exceptional area of Memphis,” said Dave Jones, president and CEO of Senate Hospitality Group.

“We selected the Westin brand because it has by far the most to offer - their amenities are incomparable in the industry. And, of course, everyone appreciates the significance of Beale Street and its impact on the American scene. It’s easy to understand why we are so obviously excited.”

The hotel has been planned by its developers to be an oasis for NBA teams who spend so much time on the road and spend too many nights in hotels unequipped to provide special amenities for athletes many of whom stand at least 6-6 and weigh more than 240 pounds.

Special provisions have been made to appeal to NBA teams including a special floor with taller ceilings and doors, shower heads mounted to accommodate NBA players and a configuration of suites to serve the special needs of an NBA team.

Representing the best of service, style and comfort for today’s affluent professional business and leisure travelers, The Westin Beale Street will boast a glass and natural stone lobby, communicating classic elegance immediately upon arrival.

Guests will continue this luxurious experience with elegantly styled guest rooms featuring the brand’s signature Heavenly Bed(R), a spacious work area and contemporary flat screen HDTV’s.

The oversized, elegantly appointed four fixture bathroom features a frameless glass shower with dual showerhead, granite and chrome vanity and slate flooring. Other guest services include a WestinWORKOUT(R) Powered by Reebok fitness facility and WestinWORKOUT guest rooms.

The Westin Beale Street will include a number of unique offerings for its guests including the nationally acclaimed Daily Grill restaurant, an upscale restaurant which serves classic American cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Designed to serve as an important meeting and special event destination, The Westin Beale Street hotel will offer the highest quality meeting facilities in the city. The hotel will specialize in catering to business and social events utilizing its elegant ballroom and breakout meeting rooms including Westin’s state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment, as well as wireless high-speed Internet access throughout its meeting space, in all public areas of the hotel as well as in the hotel’s guest rooms.

Westin’s new brand positioning is centered on renewal and offering guests the services, products and amenities that will help them rejuvenate, relax and restore their mind, body and spirit and as a result all Westin hotels in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean will be smoke-free as of January 2006.
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