Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is to open the Aloft London ExCeL, the brand's UK debut.

Scheduled to open ahead of the London Olympics in 2012, the 252-room hotel with its signature 3m-(9.8ft) high guestroom ceilings will be located at the eastern entrance of ExCeL London, the international exhibition and convention centre in the Docklands area of the city. The property is being developed by ExCeL London's parent company, Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company, which also owns the Aloft Abu Dhabi adjacent to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. It will be the second Aloft property in Europe, following the Aloft Brussels Schuman which is scheduled to open this autumn.

Facilities at the hotel will include the brand's re:mix communal lobby area and w xyz bar; re:fuel by Aloft, a 24-hour 'grab & go' food and beverage outlet; and a re:charge fitness centre and splash pool. The signing of Aloft London ExCeL is part of a strategic international expansion of the Aloft brand. After opening its first hotel in June 2008 in Canada, Aloft now has almost 50 hotels across the United States, China, Canada and the United Arab Emirates.

Growth this year - in addition to the London and Brussels properties - will see debut openings in India and Thailand, followed by the second Aloft for the Middle East, the Aloft Riyadh, which is scheduled to open in 2011.