FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LE MERIDIEN DEBUTS IN CHICAGO WITH OPENING OF
LE MERIDIEN CHICAGO – OAKBROOK CENTER
Chicagoland’s Newest Hotel Unveiled Following $25 Million Interior and Exterior
Transformation, Including a Modern Rooftop Spanish Restaurant with Sweeping City Views
and High Impact Artwork that Unlocks the Destination
CHICAGO – July 31, 2014 – Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) today
announced the opening of Le Méridien Chicago – Oakbrook Center, a Rockbridge Portfolio
property, following a $25 million transformation. Managed by Wischermann Partners Inc., Le
Méridien Chicago – Oakbrook Center provides a new lens on Western Chicago’s sophisticated Oak
Brook area, home to a multitude of upscale shopping and dining options as well as Fortune 500
business headquarters.
“We are on track to triple our North American portfolio since Starwood first acquired Le Méridien in
2005,” said Brian Povinelli, Global Brand Leader, Le Méridien and Westin. “With shared passions
for culture, the arts and cuisine, Chicago has long been on our short list, and the location is a great
backdrop for our Le Méridien brand promise to unlock the destination for the curious and creativeminded traveler.”
Le Méridien Chicago – Oakbrook Center features 172 guestrooms and suites, including an
extraordinary Presidential Suite and six spacious Executive Suites all featuring contemporary and
mid-century inspired furnishings. The hotel also boasts 3,500 square feet of expansive event space,
two contemporary Spa Suites and a sleek Spanish restaurant, El Tapeo, offering contemporary tapas
style dishes and handcrafted cocktails.
Guests will be immediately enthralled by the new modern façade, which opens into the hotel’s
signature and award-winning arrival experience, Le Méridien Hub™. Le Méridien arrival consists of
four unique elements: large-scale artwork in high impact areas; the sensory experience, illustrated
through Le Méridien signature scent, sound and use of light; UNLOCK ART™ programme, featuring
artist designed key card collections that offer access to the acclaimed Elmhurst Art Museum; and a
24-hour curated soundtrack by French Bossa Nova band Nouvelle Vague. The Hub also features the
signature Master Barista, a recently launched initiative to meet the growing demands of coffee lovers
at every Le Méridien hotel worldwide. The Master Baristas lead coffee-related initiatives at each
hotel, serve as a coffee cultural ambassador, and maintain knowledge of current coffee trends within
the destination.
“Our vision for and strategy around the end user has created a hotel unrivaled in the market,” noted
Jim Merkel, Rockbridge President & CEO. “Rockbridge and the team focused on every detail to
totally transform the hotel experience at Le Méridien Chicago – Oakbrook Center.”
Le Méridien Chicago – Oakbrook Center brings a new lens on Oak Brook through the work of local
Chicago artists and abstract installations representing notable Chicago symbols, such as bicycles and
the Ferris wheel, which debuted at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. Upon arrival, guests will
experience a large-scale, one-of-a-kind mural depicting the architecture of the city by contemporary
artist Justus Roe of the Chicago Artists Coalition. The Hub also features an installation of a
deconstructed bicycle, a nod to Oak Brook’s many biking trails, with the bike chain in the shape of
Illinois and the headlight representing Chicago. Each floor of the hotel’s elevator lobbies showcases
images taken from Chicago’s signature “L” train, including the mileage and direction from the hotel
in relation to where each particular shot was taken. The Executive Club Lounge features eight
stunning photographs by Chicago native Satoki Nagata portraying Chicagoland locals caught in the
rain. Custom graphic patterns throughout the hotel, created by Starwood’s award-winning design
team, are abstract designs of local contextual nuances, including original Daniel Burnham city plans
for Chicago and maps of the public spaces of the Windy City.
The ninth floor of Le Méridien Chicago – Oakbrook Center boasts a 3,000 square foot Grand Salon
Ballroom and Executive Club Lounge as well as the hotel’s new restaurant concept, El Tapeo,
featuring floor-to-ceiling windows and breathtaking views of the city. The 58-seat restaurant offers
authentic Spanish cuisine, created by culinary artist and Chicago native, Chef Franco Diaz. In the
hotel’s 25-seat lounge and 12-seat bar, guests are also served freshly made, handcrafted cocktails and
light tapas style appetizers.
“Our associates are very excited and proud to be a part of this opening,” said Paul Wischermann,
President and CEO of Wischermann Partners. “We will build memorable experiences and guest
loyalty one customer at a time, positioning Le Méridien Chicago – Oakbrook Center for future
success and offering Starwood’s most loyal guests another great choice when visiting Chicago’s Oak
Brook market.”
Le Méridien Chicago – Oakbrook Center also features two modern Spa Suites, featuring custom stone
and marble décor, a stone-tiled rain shower steam room with a 32” heated mosaic tile bed amidst ten
body sprayers, a luxurious soaking tub and a large relaxation lounge. The lounge is designed with
seamless flexibility to allow guests to revitalize their mind, body, and spirit, as they relax in the plush
comfort of an oversized sofa, or engage in an array of curated spa treatment services in partnership
with ESPA.
For more information or to book, please visit www.lemeridien.com/chicagooakbrookcenter.
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About Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts
Le Méridien , the Paris-born hotel brand currently represented by nearly 100 properties in more than 40
countries, was acquired by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) in November 2005.
With more than 80 of its properties located in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Le Méridien
provided a strong international complement to Starwood’s then primarily North American holdings at the time
of purchase. Since then, Le Méridien has gone through a brand re-launch, which included a large scale hotels
product consolidation and redefined brand strategy. Through creation of the LM100 artist community, Le
Méridien has transformed numerous guest touch points, thus bringing unique, interactive and curated
experiences to its guests. Plans call for dynamic expansion of Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts within the next
five years, concentrating on markets in Asia-Pacific and the Americas. Le Méridien recently opened new hotels
in Chicago, Tampa (Florida, USA), Cairo, Bali, Atlanta, Dallas, Istanbul, Oran (Algeria), Zhengzhou (China),
Arlington (Virginia, USA) and Santa Monica, (California, USA), and will open in the next 12 months in
Bangkok, New Orleans, Mahabaleshwar (India), Gandhinagar (India), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Charlotte (North
Carolina, USA) and Indianapolis (Indiana, USA). For more information, please visit www.leMéridien .com or
www.facebook.com/leMéridien . Follow @LeMéridien Hotels on Instagram and Twitter.
About Rockbridge
Rockbridge is a private equity firm that invests in hotels. Since 1992, Rockbridge’s team has formed and
managed ten institutional private equity funds and executed on more than 325 hotel investments in 45 states in
transactions worth more than $5 billion. An integrated hospitality firm and the market leader in hotel
investment for more than 20 years, Rockbridge’s cycle-tested investment strategy has enabled the company to
successfully manage risk while creating solutions that deliver current cash flow and create long-term value. For
additional information about Rockbridge, visit www.rockbridgecapital.com.
About Wischermann Partners, Inc.
Wischermann Partners, Inc. is a national hospitality firm, focused on the operations of upper upscale and luxury
hotels. Recognized by clients, peers and industry experts, Wischermann Partners brings a unique mix of
knowledge, experience and insight to hospitality management, development and acquisitions. Currently,
Wischermann Partners operates a hotel portfolio of more than 3,400 rooms. For more information about
Wischermann Partners, please visit www.wischermannpartners.com.
Media Contacts:
Lianne Wiker / Ellen Molina
Noreen Heron & Associates
+1 773-969-5200
lwiker@heronpr.com
ellen@heronpr.com
(Note: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities
regulations. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and involve risks
and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those
anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks and uncertainties are presented in
detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we believe the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance
that our expectations will be attained or that results and events will not materially differ. We undertake no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.)