New JW Marriott Hotel Slated For Guanacaste, Costa Rica

310-room Resort Hotel to Open in 2008

Washington , DC  -  17 August 2006 -  The seventh JW Marriott Hotel in Latin America will open in 2008 in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, under a franchise agreement reached between Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) and Hotel Real de Pinilla, S.A. , a subsidiary of Grupo Poma of El Salvador.  Grupo Poma’s hotel division, known as Real Hotels & Resorts, is comprised of 23 properties including the Puebla Marriott Hotel in Mexico and the Courtyard by Marriott Panama City, Panama and will manage the resort.

When opened, the 310-room JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa will be the fourth Marriott International-branded property in Costa Rica.

It will be located on a Pacific beachfront site in the 4,000-acre Hacienda Pinilla Beach Resort and Residential community development that also contains an existing 18-hole golf course, an equestrian center, tennis courts, villas and beach houses. The project team includes the pre-eminent Zurcher Architects as the project architect and Paul Duesing Partners as the interior designer.

Daniel Oduber Liberia International Airport is located approximately 50 miles away and is served by five airlines including American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and Air Canada as well as domestic carriers and charter service providers.

“We are delighted to be working with Real Hotels & Resorts on this exciting and beautiful resort hotel and to see our award-winning JW Marriott brand grow in Latin America,” said Ed Fuller, president & managing director of international lodging for Marriott International.  “Costa Rica is world-class leisure destination, especially for ecotourism, and attracts a diverse group of visitors. Coupled with our JW Marriott’s global reputation for unsurpassed, relaxed luxury and ambience, we are confident this resort will be an instant success.”

Speaking for Real Hotels & Resorts, Development Director Camilo Bolanos said,  “Our company is extremely excited to be developing this wonderful property with Marriott. Our goal is to position it as the preferred choice for the most demanding and savvy leisure travelers interested in visiting the Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica and the JW Marriott is ideal for this purpose.”        

The resort’s 310-room spacious accommodations will include up to 30 executive level guest rooms and up to 10 stand alone casita units.

For dining and entertainment, the resort will have an all-day restaurant featuring terrace seating; two specialty restaurants serving lunch and dinner, a pool bar and grill, a café kiosk and a lobby lounge and bar.

Recreational amenities will include a 13,500 square-foot health club and spa featuring 18 treatment rooms, saunas, steam rooms, a beauty salon, a spa shop and a fitness center.  Water sports activities will include a swimming pool, jet-skiing, diving, snorkeling and fishing.  A kids club will be located near the Spa. Golf will be available at an 18-hole golf course and club house included in the overall complex. Additionally, the resort will have a business center.

For conferences and social events, the JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa will boast more than 5,500 square feet of flexible meeting space.  Included will be a ballroom offering more than 3,000 square feet and three meeting rooms in varying configurations.

JW Marriott hotels in Latin America include properties in Mexico City, Cancun, Caracas, Lima, Quito and Rio de Janeiro.

Marriott International is represented in Costa Rica by the Costa Rica Marriott Hotel, the Los Suenos Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort and Courtyard by Marriott San Jose hotel.

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC. (NYSE: MAR) is a leading lodging company with nearly 2,800 lodging properties in the United States and 67 other countries and territories.  Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Bulgari brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club International, Horizons, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Grand Residences by Marriott  brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers and golf courses.   The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and had approximately 143,000 employees at 2005 year-end.  It is ranked as the lodging industry’s most admired company and one of the best places to work for by FORTUNE® . The company is also a 2006 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Partner.  In fiscal year 2005, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of $11.6 billion.  For more information or reservations, please visit our web site at www.marriott.com