JW Marriott Maldives Gaaskoshibee Resort and Spa is to open in fourth quarter of 2010

Marriott International has signed 21 management contracts for hotels and resorts in the Asia Pacific region.

The 21 hotels are scheduled to open through the end of 2013, represent four of the company’s lodging brands and will add nearly 7,000 rooms to Marriott’s previously-announced Asia Pacific pipeline of 37 hotels and 9,400 rooms now under construction. They are part of the company’s global development pipeline of 110,000 rooms.

When opened, the 58 hotels now under development will add over 16,000 rooms to Marriott’s Asia Pacific portfolio. This growth will bring the company’s presence in the region to 154 hotels offering 51,500 rooms in 18 countries by the end of 2013, ranking it among the largest international hotel operators in China, India and Thailand with 70, 31 and 26 properties respectively in each country.

In addition, the Ritz-Carlton portfolio in the region currently consists of 16 hotels and resorts offering approximately 5,000 rooms with nine properties and 1,500 rooms under development.

Hotels covered in the 21 new signings include:

- Two JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts-branded properties in Dalian and Sanya, China. They will join nine previously announced JW Marriott hotels under construction, including the recently announced 450-room JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi and the 106-villa JW Marriott Maldives Gaaskoshibee Resort & Spa which opens in fourth quarter of 2010.

- Ten full service, upscale Marriott Hotels & Resorts-branded properties that will be located in China, the Philippines and Thailand and include the 712-room Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Center and the 256-room Manila Airport Marriott Hotel opening later this year.

- Two full-service, upscale Renaissance Hotels & Resorts-branded properties in China.

- Seven upper-moderately-priced Courtyard by Marriott hotels. These will be located in Cambodia, China and India and include the 254-room Courtyard by Marriott Bangalore and Marriott International’s first hotel in Cambodia.

“We are excited by these spectacular, architecturally interesting additions to our already dynamic Asia Pacific pipeline especially since this growth is occurring in the context of the difficult global economy and tight credit markets,” said Ed Fuller, president & managing director of international lodging. “Clearly, these new hotels are testament to the recognized power of our brands to deliver results even under challenging conditions and to the success our existing hotels are enjoying in the region.”

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Marriott International to enter the Maldives with a 100 – villa renaissance resort in 2009

The first Marriott International-branded resort in The Republic of Maldives, one of the world’s premiere resort destinations, will open in 2009 under a management agreement with ADK Travels Private Ltd.

The five-star, 100-villa Renaissance Maldives Gaakoshibee Resort & Spa on Gaakoshibee island in the Shaviyani Atoll, will be located about a 55-minute flight by seaplane from Male, the capital city of The Maldives. The island is largely untouched with dense foliage throughout and boasts a pristine white sand beach fronting the resort. Like other islands in The Maldives, Gaakoshibee offers rare underwater beauty along with a profusion of psychedelic colors and an abundance and variety of underwater life that promise to fascinate divers and snorkelers alike.

“We are thrilled to soon be part of the tourism infrastructure of The Maldives,” said Ed Fuller, president & managing director of international lodging at Marriott. “Its unique ‘One Island, One Resort’ approach to tourism delivers an exclusive and private holiday experience that is almost impossible to replicate elsewhere. It is what has made The Maldives one of the primary destinations for holiday-goers and honeymooners from the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and elsewhere. We are confident this Renaissance resort will be hugely successful from day one.”

“We are delighted to be associated with Marriott International and we are confident that together we will offer a unique holiday experience in the Maldives this is both interesting and fulfilling to our guests,” said Hassan Fazal Hussain, managing director of ADK Travels. “We are sure that both our partnership with Marriott International and the resort that will be managed under this partnership will be enormously successful.”

Marriott’s Renaissance brand appeals to travellers who like things to be “interesting.” They expect the hotels they select to embody the locale and to help them live life to the fullest, and to help them “take it all in.” For them, travel is an adventure to be savored with gusto.

The Renaissance Maldives Gaaskishibee Resort & Spa will offer a mix of spacious beach and over-water villas. Beach villas will have a private garden, indoor/outdoor five-fixture bathroom, an outdoor shower, oversized bathtub and direct access to the beach. Over-water villas will have five-fixture bathrooms, a daybed on a large private sundeck and will provide direct access to the lagoon. All villas will have their own private plunge pool.

The resort will offer its guests a choice of five food and beverage outlets: an all-day restaurant and two specialty restaurants, two bars and an underground wine cellar. Both specialty restaurants, which will come with their own bars and outdoor areas for al fresco dining, will be located over water to offer its patrons more than just an experience for the palate. While the Beach Bar and Grill is located on the southern end of the island, the Sunset Bar on the western side of the resort will be conveniently attached to the Mediterranean specialty restaurant.
Recreational amenities will include an over-water Spa with eight treatment rooms, four of which will be over water, and a beauty/barber shop; a health and fitness centre; a discovery centre; a library; an Olympic-sized lap pool, a lagoon pool and a kid’s pool; , a water sports centre, a diving centre, a kids’ club and a games room/recreation pavilion.

Additional amenities will encompass a gift and sundry shop, a CD and DVD library with internet facilities and laundry and valet service.

About Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR):Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) is a leading lodging company with more than 2,900 lodging properties in the United States and 67 other countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Bulgari brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club, Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Grand Residences by Marriott brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers. The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Md., and had approximately 151,000 employees at 2006 year-end. It is ranked as the lodging industry’s most admired company and one of the best places to work for by FORTUNE®. The company is also a 2006 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Partner. In fiscal year 2006, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of $12.2 billion. For more information please visit http://www.marriott.com/.