The Florida sun is shining its light on a smart new lodging option for travelers, with the opening of Element Miami International Airport. Element, the trailblazing eco-wise brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., brings a fresh update to the Miami hotel scene with 209 guest rooms and suites built green from the ground up.

Element Miami International Airport typifies the “balance” that Starwood’s Element brand offers to business and leisure travelers. The hotel’s strategic location puts it at the doorstep of one of the world’s busiest air-travel hubs - Miami International Airport - and just two blocks from the long anticipated Miami Central Station, a world-class transportation hub that will transform options for travelers in several phases starting in spring 2012. The new facility includes Airport Link Metrorail service, providing a direct rail connection to Downtown Miami. For those needing a car during their travels, the transportation hub includes a brand new rental car facility that unites 16 rental car companies in a stunning new 6,500 vehicle facility.

“With its own combination of beautiful natural elements and singular style, Miami is a perfect fit for the Element brand,” said Brian McGuinness, Senior Vice President of Specialty Select Brands for Starwood. “Element offers guests a bright, energizing environment that’s conducive to both work and play, all while affording easy access to the city and to the airport.”

The Element brand made history with its 2008 launch. It is the first major hotel brand to mandate that all properties pursue the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for high-performance buildings. The Element Miami International Airport features all the brand’s signatures, including:

  Rise, Element’s hearty and healthy complimentary breakfast
  Motion, a state-of-the-art, 24-hour fitness center
  Relax, complimentary evening receptions
  Restore, a gourmet food pantry
  A 791-square-foot meeting room with modular furnishings, flexible layout and state-of-the-art technology that can be customized to meet and business or social needs
  ChargePoint electric vehicle charging station
  Dynamic gathering spaces, from a lobby flooded with natural light to a multi-storied window wall and from an outdoor fire pit, to water features and a barbecue
  Light filled guest rooms with a fluid design of modular furniture, swiveling flat-screen televisions, large desks with open shelving, and custom-designed closets
  The signature Heavenly® Bed
  Spa-inspired bathrooms with an invigorating rain-shower and dual-flush toilet
  Fully equipped kitchens featuring filtered water, ENERGY STAR-rated appliances and utensils to prepare a gourmet meal

“We’re very excited to bring Element’s fusion of style, personal wellbeing and sustainability to Miami, and we think guests will appreciate having a fresh option so close to MIA,” said Lew Wiens, President of True North Hotel Group, the hotel’s management company. “Our location adjacent to such a key transportation hub makes Element Miami unbeatable for business and leisure travelers alike.”