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http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060918/20060918006114.html?.v=1

Press Release Source: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

The Resort at Singer Island, a Luxury Collection(TM) Property Opens December 2006 on Florida's Gold Coast
Monday September 18, 5:09 pm ET
Only All-Suite Luxury Resort in North Palm Beach Now Accepting Reservations

SINGER ISLAND, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 2006--Modern luxury and sophisticated elegance meet on the white sands of Palm Beach County with the December 2006 opening of the Resort at Singer Island. Set amidst one of the most expansive, untouched beachfronts on the Atlantic Coast, the debut of this Luxury Collection resort, part of Starwood Hotels & Resort Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT - News), signals a sea change for Singer Island, redefining it as one of the newest and most dynamic oceanfront destinations on Florida's Gold Coast. Now accepting reservations for February 2007 onwards, the $210 million all-suite property is the largest luxury hotel real estate development in the county since 1991.

Located between Jupiter and Palm Beaches, Singer Island's premiere oceanfront resort features 239 one and two-bedroom suites, 66 residences and all the amenities and services expected from a world-class property. Guests will enjoy a formal pool complete with private cabanas and butler service and a lagoon style grotto pool with waterfall and slide and breathtaking views of the ocean and the intercoastal waterway. The 21-story resort also features an Asian-infused/Caribbean Grill, a rum lounge, an 8,500 square foot ocean-inspired spa, a stunning outdoor terrace with a wedding gazebo and 4,000 square feet of meeting space.

The accommodations at Singer Island will differentiate the resort and elevate it in the region. Each room will feature 800 to 2,100 square feet of living space in one and two-bedroom configurations -- typical luxury hotel rooms average 400 square feet. Each suite features a fully equipped high-tech kitchen, spacious marble bathroom, stylish yet comfortable living spaces with flat screen t.v.'s , a Bose CD/DVD player as well as spacious balconies.

The design team of Hirsch Bedner is making a statement on Singer Island by creating the look and feel of contemporary luxury in a comfortable beach resort setting. Both public spaces and guest rooms feature expansive windows, as the layout and decor of both public spaces and guest rooms is designed to underscore the most important feature of the site - the expansive water views. The sleek interiors center on unique expressions of light, using unexpected artistic fixtures and turning some of the interior architectural elements into light sources. The varied blues and greens of the interiors are punctuated by accents in hues of tropical spice.

The Resort at Singer Island is being developed by WCI Communities - America's preeminent builder of award-winning communities in Florida, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.

For more information please call 561-340-1700 or visit www.luxurycollection.com/singerisland.


Source: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

BJLAW

I was informed this morning that Luxury Collection at Singer Island will NOT be opening on schedule. SPG/Luxury will try to put us up in another location that doesn't have to be a Starwood property. They mentioned The Atlantic (Starwood) in Ft. Lauderdale and also some others locally. As you can imagine this is a hassle...Does anyone have any suggestions as to an ideal alternate property in the area or within an hour or so as we are flying into West Palm with Jet Blue?? Also, in addition to Starwood finding an alternate hotel, what do you feel would be an appropriate compensation package for the inconvenience?

Thanks

pbjag

If you want to stay in Palm Beach County (Fort Lauderdale is an hour away), your upscale options are The Breakers, the Ritz Carlton and the Four Seasons or the Boca Raton Resort and Club (none Starwood)

If you prefer to stay with Starwood, the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood or the Atlantic in Fort Lauderdale that was already mentioned. Depending on where your trip is scheduled, the St. Regis in Fort Lauderdale may have opened as well (scheduled for March 1st.)

Non- Starwood in FLL -- go for the Lago Mar Resort.

If you end up staying in Fort Lauderdale -- if you were not already planning to rent a car, be sure to ask that transport to/from the airport be covered -- car or taxi service from PBIA to Fort Lauderdale is more than $100 plus tip each way.

IrishStephen

I am staying at the new Luxury Collection "The Resort at Singer Island" at the moment. I will write a longer trip report and edit this thread when I get time but wanted to put a small note up here as there is so little information on this property and I know when I was looking for myself I could not find anything.

Firstly the hotel is a beautiful property and I think that in time it will become one of the finer hotels in the luxury collection. However what is leaving the hotel down very much so at the moment is the Food and Beverage department and has huge staff problems I would imagine due to lack of training before opening. I am sure that management are working hard to plug the gaps but I would not be surprised if 70% of the staff I see now are not here on my return.

There are some great staff here that are trying hard and as a Platinum SPG I was looked after very well with an upgrade to a two bedroom suite but the restaurant Solu and the pool staff are leaving the place down. All in good time as the only saying goes and I would hope that in a few months the staff problems will be addressed.

ac/elite

I just booked a room on the Luxury Collection website and when the confirmation page came up it had a notation: Please note: This hotel does not participate in Starwood Preferred Guest.

I called the hotel directly to find out what that meant exactly and the person I spoke to said that the statement was entirely incorrect and that I will be getting points for the stay and recognition of my status. Hopefully someone will fix the statement on the confirmation page.

sbtinme

You're exceptionally forgiving and gracious to say such. For my part, I'm less patient with high end properties with high end price points. Yes, I can overlook minor glitches that are bound to happen on a property's first month or so, but if your observations lead you to believe that 70% of the staff will not be there on your next visit, I'd quickly categorize that as something much more than a passing concern or glitch.

A very substatial part of solid hotel and resort management is expectations training and operations training. Mid tier management's job on the property is to ensure that all facets of service and operations are functioning at top level every minute of every day. Opening a brand new resort is, indeed, a lot of work, but that's why hotel chains often pull top performers from their global properties to assist in both the operations and training of new hotels -- both middle of the road and high visibility hotels.

I'm disappointed that your experience would indicate that staff culling and training was lacking.

ac/elite

My wife and I just returned from a four night stay at this property. Overall, this really is an excellent hotel. The rooms are beautifully finished with high end kitchens featuring stainless steel appliances. The bed is extremely comfortable with high thread count sheets and the bathroom is well appointed with a deep soaker tub and a very large separate shower. The towels are really thick and luxurious. The one bedroom suites are really one large room with a partial wall separating the living room/kitchen area from the bed. There is a very large flat screen television in the living room and another flat screen in the bedroom part of the room.

There is a business office off the lobby of the hotel which offers guests the free use of a computer with internet access, printer and copier.

The hotel has two pools, the Resort Lagoon Pool which is family oriented and features a large water slide and waterfall and the Infinity Pool which is smaller and more adult oriented. The Infinity Pool has private cabanas which eventually will be available for a fee, but are now free. They are very nice with couches, fans and lounge chairs. Once the tv's are installed, I think they'll begin charging.

The staff problems mentioned in the previous review seem to have been solved. After the first night, the staff at the front desk and restaurant recognized me and referred to me by name, as did the valet attendants. Incidentally, the only option for parking is valet, and the charge is $20/day.

I stayed on the Taste of Luxury promotion which includes breakfast and the fourth night free. The breakfast can only be taken in the restaurant (the package doesn't allow room service). There is no restriction on what can be ordered for breakfast on the package and, as the restaurant is quite pricey, our daily bill normally came to $50-60. We signed it to our room and it was removed from our folio.

Despite the fact that we really enjoyed our stay overall at the hotel, and would definately go back, there were a few minor glitches and things that people might want to be aware of:

jottoson

Luxury Collection hotels do not offer platinum amenity choices. It is the choice of the hotel what amenity they provide as an amenity.

mile ho

My wife and I just returned from a four night stay at this wonderful property.

We stayed on the Taste of Luxury and found everything to be top notch. We WOULD go back anytime as long as it remains affordable. The standard room, which was actually a very large suite! was lovely.

William, the Lurker, must have alerted them to our coming as a special anniversary tray was waiting on us when we arrived.

KUDOS to William and The Resort at Singer Island. Two reasons I'm glad to be a Starwood addict.

Thank you, William, for your help. You are an asset to SPG.

vandalby

I'm about to book a reservation via spg.com for a room at The Resort at Singer Island. As I was looking over the "Review Your Reservation" before confirming, I notice that section 4. Starwood Preferred Guest Information states "Please note: This hotel does not participate in Starwood Preferred Guest."

However, when I check out the SPG Terms & Conditions, this property is not listed among those that do not participate in SPG.

So, has anyone stayed here recently? Have you received Starpoints for your visit?

TravisMT81

I would call spg guest services, they have limited participation.

All rooms at The Resort at Singer Island are suites; therefore, Starpoint Award reservations must be booked at a higher Starpoint rate through your

ac/elite

Yes it does participate. I had the same concern when booking for a stay this past June when I saw that message. I called the hotel and the guy I spoke to was surprised that the website was giving out that message and he assured me that they fully participated. I did in fact receive points for the stay.

Having said that, you'll see by doing a search here for other threads on the property, that they give plats a minimal room upgrade, if any. It is a very nice property though.

brytpa

I received conflicting information when I called. SPG's customer support person said that no, I'd not get points.

When I called the hotel, they said I would get points. Just that the upgrade rules and such don't apply because it is an all-suite property.

I took the plunge and made the reservation when I saw that others on here have gotten points for their stays there.

It's been mentioned before, but that seemed odd in that I just got back from the Virgin Islands where an upgrade entailed going from a Garden View to an Ocean View and have experienced the same thing at other all-suite properties (upgrade to nicer view, if not a larger suite) and so can't see why Singer Island can't do that. But I digress.

Glad you had this thread in here, BTW, as I was digging around for precisely the same information because I was checking out hotels this evening to book a few nites' business stay in the area and have been wondering the same thing all day!

bsdstone

Looking at staying here for a long weekend in late February and early March...anyone know if you can use points to redeem here?

Starwood Lurker

"All rooms at Category 5 hotel--The Resort at Singer Island, Singer Island, FL are suites only and require a minimum of 24,000 to 64,000 Starpoints per night for a free night; therefore, Starpoints Awards reservations for all these hotels must be booked at a higher Starpoint rate through your local customer contact center."

From here.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]