Marriott to add 260 room resort in Taiwan under franchise agreement

Marriott International (NYSE:MAR) will add a 260-room resort in Hualien, Taiwan to its Asian hotel portfolio in early 2003 under a franchise agreement reached with Promised Land Co., Ltd. It will be the first Marriott branded hotel in Taiwan. 

The Hualien Marriott Resort is being developed as part of a multi-phase, 260-hectare leisure development called Promised Land on the eastern coast of Taiwan, approximately 225 kilometers southeast of Taipei. The site is located in Shoufong Township, approximately 30 minutes southwest of downtown Hualien. Nearby are various tourist attractions including the East Coast National Scenic Area and Taroko Gorge.

From Taipei, Hualien is reached by a 35-minute airline flight, a three-four hour train ride or a four-five hour automobile drive. Currently a domestic transport facility, the Hualien Airport will be converted to an international facility and plans are underway to provide charter air service between Hualien and Okinawa, Japan.

"We are delighted that the Marriott brand name will soon be located in Taiwan and are pleased to have been selected to participate in this important project in the development of the Taiwanese tourism infrastructure," said Ed Fuller, president and managing director of international lodging for Marriott International.

"Marriott's expertise in hotel and resort management will help us bring tourism standards in Taiwan to a brand new international level. We are happy to be a partner," said Ching Cheng Liang, founder for Promised Land Co., Ltd.

In its first phase, which opens in early 2003, the Hualien Marriott Resort will include 260 rooms configured in 19 lagoon cottage buildings, a restaurant and a poolside bar. Other amenities will include concierge service, a business center, a gift shop, laundry/valet service, on-site parking for 230 automobiles, a games room, a health and fitness center and three swimming pools.

By 2004, the resort will open three additional food and beverage outlets, 650 square meters of conference and banquet facilities and a 420-square meter health club. A 500-room garden hotel wing and corresponding support facilities are planned for the final phase that is scheduled to open in 2007.

Other resort amenities will also open in stages. They include a water park, opening late next year; and a commercial/retail center and an 18-hole golf course that will open in 2004. Additional amenities and components such as a theme park are planned over the next six-eight years.

Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo is the architect and planner for the project and resort. Tongg Clarke & McCelvey Landscape is the landscape architect and Terry Hendrickson Associates is the interior design firm for the resort.

Elsewhere in Taiwan, construction of the 417-room Taipei Marriott Hotel, also a franchise, is expected to begin in mid-2003. It is scheduled to open in 2006.