We study resolvent estimates and maximal regularity of the Stokes operator in L q -spaces with exponential weights in the axial directions of unbounded cylinders of ℝ n , n ≥ . For a straight cylinder we use exponential weights in the axial direction and Muckenhoupt weights in the cross-section. Next, for cylinders with several exits to in nity we prove that the Stokes operator in L q -spaces with exponential weights generates an exponentially decaying analytic semigroup and has maximal regularity. The proof for straight cylinders uses an operator-valued Fourier multiplier theorem and unconditional Schauder decompositions based on the R-boundedness of the family of solution operators for a system in the cross-section of the cylinder parametrized by the phase variable of the one-dimensional partial Fourier transform. For general cylinders we use cut-o techniques based on the result for straight cylinders and the case without exponential weight.