SOL MELIA ENTERS LEAGUE OF LEADING HOTELS OF THE WORLD

Leading European hotel chain Sol Meliá has today announced the entry of two of its properties, Gran Meliá Caracas Hotel Suites & Conference Centre in Venezuela and the Meliá Playa Conchal All-Suite Beach & Golf Resort in Costa Rica into one of the world's leading marketing consortia's -- Leading Hotels of the World.

Only the world's most distinguished properties are admitted to The Leading Hotels of the World, thereby assuring a constant adherence to the organization's exacting standards of high quality.

Gran Meliá Caracas and the Meliá Playa Conchal are the first two Sol Meliá properties to be accepted by the consortia following stringent site inspections. Both properties were rated on specific criteria such as guestrooms and suites, public spaces, food and beverage, hotel facilities and back-of-house operations. Particular attention was given to staff training and standards of service.

The Gran Meliá Caracas Hotel Suites and Conference Centre

The Gran Meliá Caracas Hotel Suites and Conference Centre is located in the heart of Caracas' business district, and is situated next to the newest shopping mall in Caracas, El Recreo, where shoppers can find international brand name fashions at attractive prices. The hotel meeting facilities offer more than 30 meeting and banqueting halls for up to 1,320 attendees.

In addition to its luxurious accommodations, the hotel offers five world-class restaurants, including the Restaurant L'Albufera, a grand classical Spanish-style restaurant with live flamenco music. The hotel offers travellers five-star deluxe accommodations in one of the city's most exclusive locations and large financial, commercial and tourist centre. The nearest subway station is just a few feet away, giving instant access to Caracas city centre, its museums and other cultural attractions, the Plaza Venezuela and the Maiquetia International Airport.

Meliá Playa Conchal All-Suite Beach & Golf Resort

Designed by world-renowned Spanish Architect Alvaro Sanz, the Meliá Playa Conchal All-Suite Beach & Golf Resort resembles a quaint tropical village set amidst meandering walkways, bubbling fountains, shimmering lakes and lush botanical gardens.

With its 294 luxurious villa-suites, one will enjoy absolute leisure and high level of personalized service that is the hallmark of Sol Meliá. Each oversized junior suite is fashionably decorated in a contemporary style and includes every deluxe amenity one might expect from a world-class resort. Such amenities include central air conditioning, satellite television, spacious living and dining areas, a fully stocked mini bar and elegant baths with separate dressing room.

The resort features 10 restaurants & bars offering everything from a light snack by the pool to fresh seafood, Northern Italian cuisine and American specialties plus an exciting casino and disco. Meliá Playa Conchal boasts Costa Rica's most beautiful Northern Pacific white sand beach cove as well as the challenging "La Garra de Leon" (The Lion's Paw) 18-hole, par 72 eco-golf course, designed by Robert Trent Jones-II. In addition to boosting Central America's largest free form pool, the resort offers a wide variety of activities including four lighted tennis courts, modern gym, an adventure centre and daytime activities conducted by the resort's professional animation team.

Sol Meliá is the leading hotel group in Spain in both the city and resort hotel markets, the leading chain in Latin America and the Caribbean, the second largest hotel group in Europe and the tenth largest worldwide. The company is also the world's largest resort hotel chain. Sol Meliá has a portfolio of more than 330 city and resort hotels in 30 countries under the brand names of Meliá, Sol, TRYP and Paradisus hotels.

Its properties in Asia include Gran Meliá Jakarta, Meliá Bali (incorporating The Garden Villas), Meliá Benoa All-Inclusive Resort (Bali), Sol Lovina (Bali), Meliá Purosani (Yogyakarta), Meliá Panorama (Batam), and Sol Elite Marbella (Anyer) in Indonesia; Meliá Hanoi in Vietnam; Meliá Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia; and Sol Twin Towers (Bangkok) in Thailand. Sol Meliá has signed contracts to take-over and manage a further 80 hotels by the year 2002.