IHG to Open the First Crowne Plaza in the UAE

Dubai (UAE) – September 23, 2012 – IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, today announced it has signed an agreement with Kuwaiti-owned Almadina Real Estate Development to open a 442-room Crowne Plaza Resort in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. The hotel is currently under development on the manmade Marjan Island, giving it the ideal seafront resort location for attracting leisure and business tourism.

Scheduled to open in 2015, Crowne Plaza Resort Ras Al Khaimah will span more than 18,000 square metres and feature nine food and beverage outlets. These include an all-day dining restaurant with show kitchen, an alfresco dining terrace, a cigar lounge, two coffee shops, a pool bar, and traditional bar and nightclub. Corporate guests from the region are well catered for with an expert Crowne Plaza events team and six state-of-the-art meeting rooms. The hotel’s state-of-the-art leisure and fitness facilities will include a spa, fitness centre and beauty salon, as well as nursery and indoor souk.

The resort will be located on the Marjan Island development, which sprawls across 2.7 million square metres of reclaimed land. Close to Ras Al Khaimah International Airport and only an hour’s drive from Dubai the resort is expected to attract both international tourists and local UAE residents.

Pascal Gauvin, IHG’s Chief Operating Officer, for India, Middle East and Africa, said: “The Marjan Island development is set to become an exciting destination, and it is the perfect setting for our first Crowne Plaza Resort in the UAE. Offering an idyllic beachfront setting, a fantastic selection of F&B options, and all the services and facilities you normally associate with Crowne Plaza, we expect the resort to set a new benchmark for the brand.”

Abdulmutaleb Khraibut, Member of the Board, Al Madina Real Estate Development, said: “Ras Al Khaimah is evolving as a unique tourist destination and we have secured one of the best locations in the Emirate for our development. Combining this with IHG’s management experience and the Crowne Plaza brand, we are confident that the resort will quickly gain popularity as a destination in itself.”

“We are delighted to increase our portfolio of international hotel brands by introducing the prestigious brand of Crowne Plaza to Ras Al Khaimah, marking the entry of the first IHG property to the Emirate,” commented Victor Louis, Chief Operating Officer, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority.

The resort will become the second IHG managed hotel in Ras Al Khamiah when it opens, with an InterContinental due to open in 2014. There are 64 Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts in more than 60 countries around the world, including 5 in the UAE. An additional 18 Crowne Plaza hotels are in the global development pipeline.

About Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts
As part of the IHG global portfolio, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts is a dynamic hotel brand located in nearly 60 countries around the world in major urban centers, gateway cities and resort destinations. As the fourth largest upscale hotel brand in the world, Crowne Plaza was recently recognized by Lodging Hospitality magazine as one of the industry’s top-growing brands, and travel buyers rated Crowne Plaza as the top upscale/select-service brand in Business Travel News’ 2011 U.S. Hotel Chain survey. Truly international, Crowne Plaza offers premium accommodation, designed for the discerning business and leisure traveler who appreciates simplified elegance combined with the practicality of the latest features, as well as value for money. At Crowne Plaza, guests can enjoy a 24-hour business service, wireless high speed Internet access in the lobby plus fitness and leisure facilities. For reservations at Crowne Plaza properties, visit www.crowneplaza.com or call 1-800-2CROWNE. Twitter: www.twitter.com/crowneplaza or Facebook: www.Facebook.com/crowneplaza.

About InterContinental Hotels Group
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organization with nine hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, as well as our two newest brands, EVENTM Hotels and HUALUXETM Hotels & Resorts. IHG also manages Priority Club® Rewards, the world’s first and largest hotel loyalty program with over 67 million members worldwide.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,500 hotels and more than 661,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories. With more than 1,000 hotels in its development pipeline, IHG expects to recruit around 90,000 people into additional roles across its estate over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

Media Contact:
Emma Corcoran
Communications Director, India, Middle East and Africa
IHG
Office: + 971 (0) 4 213 6069
Email: emma.corcoran@ihg.com