Starwood Hotels & Resorts sells Westin Excelsior Rome to Katara Hospitality

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide recently announced the sale of the Westin Excelsior Rome to Katara Hospitality, Qatar's leading hospitality organization, for $251 million.

As part of the deal, the hotel will be renovated in the next five years.

Starwood will continue to operate the hotel under a new long-term management agreement.

"On the heels of our recent high-profile sales of The Phoenician and The Gritti Palace, along with other hotel asset transactions, the sale of the Westin Excelsior Rome brings us to $817 million of hotel assets sold so far this year,” CEO of Starwood Adam Aron said. “Accordingly, Starwood has now exceeded our stated goal of completing at least $800 million in hotel asset sales by the end of 2015."

The transaction increases Katara Hospitality's portfolio to 35 properties in operation or under development and marks its third owned hotel in Italy.

Opened in 1906, The Westin Excelsior Rome boasts a premium location on Via Veneto, one of Rome's most celebrated streets. The award-winning, 316-room hotel is adjacent to the American Embassy and close to all of Rome's leading attractions, including the Colosseum, the Pantheon and the Sistine Chapel.