Owned by ADNEC, Aloft London Excel launches in the UK capital
London, UK - Monday, October 31st 2011 [ME NewsWire]
(Business Wire) Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.® (NYSE:HOT) today announces the debut ofits new destination sensation brand, Aloft®Hotels, in the United Kingdom with the opening of Aloft London Excel. The hotel is owned by ADNEC (Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company), which also own ExCeL London as well as Aloft Abu Dhabi, the Middle East’s first Aloft hotel.
Aloft London Excel is located in the heart of London’s Docklands, next to the ExCeL International Exhibition and Convention Centre. Aloft London Excel features 252 loft-like guest rooms, a buzzing bar scene, a grab-and-go food pantry and industrial design elements throughout.
In the same year that Starwood launched its world-renowned W®Hotels brand in London, the innovative hotel giant has once again reinvented hotel design and launched a second new brand in the UK market. Aloft has been created to shake up the staid and traditional mid-market hotel sector and is redefining the category by delivering urban-influenced, modern and vibrant design and a social guest experience at an affordable price point.
Sanjay Tanna, ADNEC’s Director of Business Development & Investments, said: “The launch of Aloft London ExceL is an exciting new development as both London and ExCeL prepare to host next year’s Olympic Games. This new property enhances ADNEC’s investment in ExCeL expanding our ties with the city, as well as building on our already strong partnership with Starwood. I am very confident the success ADNEC and Starwood have enjoyed with Aloft Abu Dhabi will be replicated with this new Aloft hotel at ExCeL”.
“The launch of Aloft in the UK underscores the strength of the Starwood network and the power of the Aloft brand,” said Brian McGuinness, Senior Vice President, Speciality Select Brands for Starwood. “Aloft’s emphasis on high design combined with its tech-savvy features and social atmosphere all at an affordable price point translates globally and is attracting a growing group of loyal travellers. Aloft’s international expansion so early in the brand’s life cycle is unprecedented.”
With more than 50 hotels open since its June 2008 debut, Aloft Hotels has become the talk of the hospitality industry by going global while in launch mode. Aloft currently operates hotels in seven countries – the United States, Canada, China, the United Arab Emirates, India, Belgium and now the UK. Aloft is continuing its global expansion with further openings planned in China, India and the United States as well as brand introductions in Thailand, Turkey and Colombia and Costa Rica.
Roeland Vos, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa and Middle East commented: “We are proud of our long-standing partnership with ADNEC, first with Aloft Abu Dhabi, and are delighted to be working with them once again to introduce the Aloft brand to the United Kingdom. The launch of two new hotel brands in London this year underlines Starwood’s long-term commitment to the UK market.”
Aloft London Excel boasts atmospheric public spaces where guests can mix and mingle, read the paper, work on laptops, play a game of pool or grab a drink with friends at the re:mixSMlounge and w xyzSM bar. The spacious guest rooms feature the brand’s signature ceilings of nearly three metres high, oversized windows and an ultra-comfortable platform bed as well as large walk-in showers with complimentary Bliss Spa®products. Designed with the digital generation in mind, Aloft London Excel has free wireless internet access throughout the whole hotel, including all guest rooms. Each room is also equipped with a unique plug-and-play connectivity solution which connects most electronic devices to the 42’’ flat-screen TV, turning the room into a high-tech office as well as an entertainment centre.
Guests will be able to de-stress and re-energise in the re:chargeSM fitness centre and SplashSM pool and grab a bite to eat at re:fuelby AloftSM, a one-stop, 24-hour grab-and-go food and beverage area, offering sweet, savoury and healthy food, snacks and drinks.
For work meetings, training courses and presentations, the hotel’s five Tactic meeting rooms are equipped with the latest generation of audio-visual hardware, providing the perfect creative space for groups of up to 15 people.
Aloft London Excel is located at ExCeL’s Eastern entrance at the Royal Victoria Dock and has direct covered access to Prince Regent Station on the Docklands Light Railway. With East London seeing much regeneration ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games, the hotel is perfectly situated within easy reach of the Olympic Park, Westfield Stratford City, Canary Wharf and The O2 arena.
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Notes to Editors:
About Aloft Hotels
With more than 50 hotels open in the three years since Aloft first arrived on the scene, Aloft has changed the hotel landscape offering style at a steal everywhere from Abu Dhabi and Baltimore to Dallas and Beijing and everywhere in between. For more information, please 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 1058 properties in 100 countries and territories with 145,000 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 Aloft®, and Element SM. The company boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest®(SPG®), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. 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 Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC)
Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) is a strategic international venue development and management company. ADNEC’s venue portfolio includes one of the most modern exhibition centres in the world - the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, and the UK
capital’s largest exhibition and conference venue, ExCeL London. ADNEC is creating unique business districts to serve Abu Dhabi’s rapid expansion and emergence on the global stage. Development projects surrounding the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre include Capital Centre (a mixed-use development of 23 hotel, residential, commercial and mixed-use towers adjacent to the exhibition centre), Capital Gate (an iconic 35-storey, gravity defying feature tower, featuring the 5-star hotel - ‘Hyatt Capital Gate’), the Aloft Abu Dhabi and a 2.4km Marina zone on Al Bateen Channel opposite to the exhibition centre. In addition, ADNEC is expanding within the region, with The Al Ain Convention Centre, a residential and business micro city around a state-of-the-art convention centre.
Contacts
Sarah Whitham,
Public Relations, UK & Ireland
+44 (0) 207 290 7107
sarah.whitham@starwoodhotels.com
