Scheduled to Open January, 2002, Starwood to Manage Resort Under
Westin and Luxury Collection Flags
HOLLYWOOD, Fla., June 5 /PRNewswire/ -- LaSalle Investment Management, the
investment manager for The Diplomat Resort, today named Starwood Hotels &
Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) as the manager and operator of the
996-room hotel and convention center and 60-room Diplomat Country Club and Spa
in Hollywood, Florida.
LaSalle Investment Management was appointed investment manager for The
Diplomat by Independent Fiduciary Services, Inc., the independent named
fiduciary for The Diplomat. Independent Fiduciary Services was selected as the
independent named fiduciary by the Board of Trustees of the Plumbers' and
Pipefitters' National Pension Fund, which owns The Diplomat.
The new name of the Diplomat's hotel and convention center will be The
Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa, while the Diplomat Country Club and Spa will
retain its name and join Starwood's Luxury Collection, an exclusive group of
some of the world's finest hotels. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels spearheaded the
selection of a new hotel operator and negotiated a 15-year management contract
with Starwood.
"We're thrilled to have Starwood on board to manage this luxurious,
state-of-the-art hotel and convention center," said Anthony C. O'Malley,
Senior Vice President of LaSalle Investment Management, a member of the Jones
Lang LaSalle group. "It's a perfect fit since the Westin brand is one of the
leading upscale hotel brands, while the Luxury Collection is a premier player
in its class."
Arthur Adler, Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, concurred:
"The management selection process was very competitive with strong interest
from a number of large international hotel operating companies. We selected
Starwood because of its outstanding experience in operating large convention
and resort properties around the world, as well as its distribution and depth
in national and international sales and marketing offices."
"We feel privileged to have been selected to operate such an important
asset under the Westin brand as the preeminent convention hotel in South
Florida," said Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO for Starwood. "The Westin
Diplomat Resort and Spa and the Diplomat Country Club and Spa will be
outstanding additions to the already unmatched collection of upscale
convention hotels and luxury properties within the Starwood family."
The Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa joins other celebrated Westin hotels
and resorts including the legendary Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, The
Westin Maui and The Century Plaza Hotel & Spa, A Westin Hotel, in Los Angeles.
The Diplomat Country Club and Spa, a Luxury Collection Resort, joins a
portfolio that includes such lauded hotels such as the Five Star / Five
Diamond Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona, The Lodge at Koele and Manele Bay
Hotel in Hawaii and The St. Regis, New York.
About The Diplomat
The 39-story Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa, scheduled to open January
2002, will feature 996 luxuriously appointed guest rooms including Westin's
signature Heavenly Bed(TM) with a custom-designed pillow-top mattress, down
blanket and five pillows. Guests can choose from several restaurants including
a fine dining restaurant and The Crystal Cafe with over 100 premium terrace
seats. The Celebrity Room Lounge will be reminiscent of the original Diplomat
Hotel, which opened in 1958.
The five-story glass enclosed lobby will have an elaborate fountain
running the length of the lobby, huge waterwalls and views of an
infinity-edged bridged pool with a clear bottom to view the 240-foot lagoon
pool below.
An enclosed pedestrian skywalk will connect the resort to a
217,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art convention center. The Convention Center
meeting rooms, ballrooms and 50,000-square-foot Great Hall exhibition space
feature the latest conference and exhibit space technology. The complex will
also feature The Diplomat Landing, with 52,000 square feet of retail space.
Westin is the brand of choice of the upper upscale business traveler,
according to Business Travel News, whose readers awarded it the top spot in
its annual survey of hotels in the upper tier two years in a row. When it
opens in 2002, The Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa will be among Westin's more
than 30 distinctive and award-winning resorts around the world.
Opened in March 2000, The Diplomat Country Club and Spa provides luxury
amenities including 60 deluxe guest rooms, a Joe Lee-designed championship
golf course, a clay court tennis center and a 30,000- square-foot
European-inspired full-service spa and salon.
As part of Starwood's Luxury Collection, The Diplomat Country Club and Spa
joins a unique portfolio of the world's most grand and renowned hotels
including 59 properties in 25 countries ranging from former palaces dating
back to the 14th century to some of the most modern resorts.
Guests at each property will be able to earn their way toward free travel
in Starwood's frequent guest program, Starwood Preferred Guest, voted the
number one hotel frequency program by frequent travelers. Starwood Preferred
Guest features a vast global portfolio of properties, allowing guests to
accumulate points and redeem awards at Westin, Sheraton, The Luxury
Collection, Four Points and W brand hotels -- representing more than
700 participating properties worldwide. The program allows for flexible award
redemption without blackout dates and no point expiration for active members.
About Jones Lang LaSalle and LaSalle Investment Management
Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL) is the world's leading real estate services
and investment management firm, operating across more than 100 markets on five
continents. The company provides comprehensive integrated expertise, including
management services, implementation services and investment management
services on a local, regional and global level to owners, occupiers and
investors. Leading Jones Lang LaSalle's work on The Diplomat, LaSalle
Investment Management, the company's investment management business, is one of
the world's largest and most diverse real estate investment management firms,
with $22.5 billion of assets under management. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, the
world's leading hotel investment services business, provides clients with
value-added investment opportunities and advice.
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Worldwide
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 us at http://www.starwoodhotels.com.
MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT -- Click Here
SOURCE LaSalle Investment Management and Starwood Hotels &
Resorts Worldwide,
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/443150.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 443150
CONTACT:
Michael VanDam of LaSalle Investment
Management, 312-482-8670; or Ellen Gallo of Starwood Hotel &
Resorts Worldwide, 914-640-8167; or Michelle Le Vous of The
Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa, 954-883-4251
|
