Marriott to Open JW Marriott on Turks and Caicos

Weston, FL (USA) – May 6, 2013 – World-class luxury hotel brand, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, announced today during the Caribbean Hotel and Resort Investment Summit (CHRIS) its plans to open a new 380-room JW Marriott Hotel and Casino which will include 16 residential condos located on the island of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. The property will be operated by Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) under a long-term agreement with DesarrollosHotelco Turks and Caicos Ltd., a group made up of prominent regional investors.

The nine-story hotel, scheduled to open in early 2016, will be built on a11-acre site and is located on the world-famous Grace Bay beach along the north coast of Providenciales, 15 minutes from the Providenciales International Airport.

“We are thrilled to bring the JW Marriott brand of luxury to Turks and Caicos,” said Walter Stipa, majority investor of Desarrollos Hotelco Turks and Caicos Ltd. “And with its prime location on stunning Grace Bay Beach, we know that it will be very successful.”

Mr. Walter Stipa is also the majority shareholder of the 269-room JW Marriott Hotel Caracas, the 207-room Venezuela Marriott Hotel Playa Grande and the 212-room Renaissance La Castellana Caracas. Additionally, Mr. Stipa owns the 320-room Ritz-Carlton Aruba, which is currently under construction and expected to open at the end of 2013.

In addition to 380 guest rooms and suites, the hotel will feature a gourmet specialty restaurant, a three-meal-a-day restaurant, a lobby bar and lounge and a pool bar & grill. It will have 1,300 square meters of meeting space, including a ballroom; as well as a 962 square meter spa and fitness center, a kids/teen club, three swimming pools and a 901 square meter casino.

“We are proud to announce our second world class JW Marriott luxury brand hotel project in the Caribbean and our first in Turks and Caicos. This beautiful hotel will offer the highest levels of accommodations and service to our guests and will be a great addition to the brand’s growing global portfolio,” said Craig S. Smith, President of the Caribbean and Latin America.

“We are fortunate to have partners like Mr. Stipa and his team, who have an amazing eye for great sites and destinations with potential in the region” says Laurent de Kousemaeker, chief development officer for Marriott International, Inc. in the Caribbean & Latin America “Turks & Caicos is a fabulous luxury Caribbean destination that currently has no supply of internationally renowned luxury brand hotels that offer the range of resort amenities which leisure and incentive guests are looking for.”

The primary architect for the project is Robert M. Coleman & Partners, whose also designed the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans, the Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club timeshare resort, the recently-opened Renaissance Curaçao Resort & Casino and the Ritz-Carlton Aruba, currently under construction.

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts’ global portfolio consists of 60 properties in 24 countries, offering a new standard of luxury to travelers around the world. By 2015, the brand plans to operate 80 hotels in 28 countries. In addition to JW Marriott in Turks and Caicos, the brand expects rapid growth in the Caribbean and Latin America region in the coming years. Properties in the pipeline include the 300-room JW Marriott Cabo San Lucas Resort, Mexico (2015), the 131-room JW Marriott Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (2014), and the 225-room JW Marriott Hotel San Jose, Costa Rica (2015). Always reflecting their locale, JW Marriott hotels provide quietly luxurious, though purposeful and meaningful, services that help travelers achieve their personal goals and advance their ambitions without distraction or disruption, resulting in a rare harmony of beautifully delivered experiences where the primary purpose is the guests’ over-all well-being.

About JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts
JW Marriott is part of Marriott International’s luxury portfolio and consists of beautiful properties in gateway cities and distinctive resort locations around the world. These elegant hotels cater to today’s sophisticated, self-assured travelers, offering them the quiet luxury they seek in a warmly authentic, relaxed atmosphere lacking in pretense. JW Marriott properties artfully provide highly crafted, anticipatory experiences that are reflective of their locale so that their guests have the time to focus on what is most important to them. Currently, there are 60 JW Marriott hotels in 24 countries; by 2015 the portfolio is expected to encompass 79 properties in 28 countries.

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