Press Release: Bass Hotels & Resorts (SM)
May 9, 2000
MIAMI, FL -- Thomas Arasi, President, Bass Hotels & Resorts, The Americas, and Ricardo Poma, Chairman of El
Salvador-based Grupo Real, today announced the opening of the 150-room, 150,000-square-foot Inter-Continental Miami
Airport West hotel, in the Doral area of Miami-Dade County.
Located in the fastest-growing area of Miami-Dade County, minutes from Miami International Airport, the deluxe
six-story property has seven meeting rooms totaling 4,400 square feet as well as a 2,400-square-foot ballroom,
for a total of 6,800 square feet of banquet space.
Featuring a Club Inter-Continental Floor with a private concierge lounge, the full-service hotel is complete with
a fitness center, business center, an outside pool and a host of other amenities to accommodate the most discriminating
business traveler.
"So many people have been looking forward to the completion of this property," says Poma. "One analyst
recently noted that this hotel `marks the coming of age of the Airport West Area,' and we certainly concur. The
new Inter-Continental is the area's premier, world-class airport hotel."
"We greatly value our relationship with Ricardo and Grupo Real," says Arasi. "Our agreement has
been extremely fruitful within Central America, and I'm delighted to celebrate the opening of this venture's first
property in North America."
The hotel's 150-room inventory includes 32 business rooms, 12 handicapped rooms, two junior suites, and one presidential
suite, all fully equipped to meet the needs of today's business traveler.
Each offers three phones equipped with data ports and Internet access, as well as a variety of amenities, including
a 27-inch television, CD player, mini-bar, and in-room safe.
"Our goal is to ensure that we provide every possible amenity for the executive on the go," adds Louis
Philippe, the hotel's General Manager.
Guests also can savor the Mediterranean-inspired, tantalizing fare offered in the hotel's posh Armillary Grille,
named after a hanging sculpture in the lobby garden.
The $35 million, five-star property was built by Miami-based Coastal Construction Company, one of the hospitality
industry's most respected builders, having completed 25 hotels over the past 15 years.
"Miami is clearly the `gateway to the Americas,'" concludes Arasi, "and, now, with two properties,
Inter-Continental is ideally positioned to maintain its leadership position with business travelers in the city."
The Inter-Continental Miami Airport West is the fifth property to result from a 1997 commercial agreement between
Ricardo Poma, Chairman of Grupo Poma, and his hotel operating division, Grupo Real, and Inter-Continental Hotels
and Resorts. The first two included the re-branding of existing properties in San Jose, Costa Rica and San Salvador,
El Salvador. The Camino Real Inter-Continental Hotel San Pedro Sula, Honduras opened two year ago; the fourth was
the recently opened Inter-Continental Tegucigalpa.
The commercial agreement, which has a stated long-term goal of 12 properties, will yield two additional properties
during 2000, the Plaza Real Inter-Continental In Managua, and the Hotel Inter-Continental Guatemala City.
Note to editors:
Bass Hotels & Resorts(SM), the hotel business of Bass PLC of the United Kingdom, operates or franchises more
than 2,800 hotels and 450,000 guest rooms in more than 90 countries and territories. The following are some of
the service marks owned by Bass Hotels & Resorts, Inc., its subsidiaries or affiliates: Holiday Inn(R), Crowne
Plaza(R), Holiday Inn Express(R), Holiday Inn Select(R), Holiday Inn Garden Court(SM), Holiday Inn SunSpree(R)
Resorts, Staybridge Suites(SM), Holidex(R), Priority Club(R) Worldwide, Inter-Continental(R), Forum(R), Six Continents
Club(R).
Bass Hotels & Resorts, Inc. offers information and reservations capability on its pages on the World Wide Web
of the Internet - www.holiday-inn.com for Holiday Inn hotels, www.hiexpress.com
for Holiday Inn Express hotels, www.crowneplaza.com for Crowne Plaza Hotels
and Resorts, www.staybridge.com for Staybridge Suites, and www.interconti.com
for Inter-Continental Hotels and Resorts.
Contact: Kreps/DeMaria, Miami Israel Kreps, 305/663-3543 Ikreps@krepspr.com