M�venpick Hotels & Resorts are expanding their portfolio in Jordan: having been represented in the kingdom with four hotels for many years, the international hotel group has now signed a management agreement for a new holiday resort with 456 rooms and suites at Tala Bay in Aqaba. Construction work on M�venpick Resort Tala Bay is completed which means the resort will open in summer this year.

Tala Bay is a new and exclusive residential community on the southern shores of the Red Sea destination Aqaba where various hotels and apartments, a marina, restaurants, shops, and boutiques are being built. The area is situated 10 minutes from the city centre of Aqaba, while King Hussein International Airport is only 20 minutes away.

The owner of the hotel is the Zara South Coast Development Company with whom M�venpick Hotels & Resorts has collaborated successfully for the past decade. �We are very pleased that we have the opportunity to open another hotel, the fifth in Jordan and the second in Aqaba, together with the Swiss company�, says Yassin K. Talhouni, Chairman of Zara South Coast Development Company. �M�venpick Hotels & Resorts enjoys an excellent reputation in the region in general and in Jordan in particular. Guests will certainly be enthusiastic about the high standards and quality that the addition of M�venpick Resort Tala Bay will bring to this prestigious new community.�

�We are very proud that Zara South Coast Development Company put their complete trust in us again with this unique project�, explains Jean Gabriel P�r�s, President & CEO M�venpick Hotels & Resorts. �The new holiday resort will be an excellent addition to our portfolio in Jordan.�

The 456 rooms, including 145 family rooms, nine Junior Suites and two Executive Suites, all share a generous and modern design and light-coloured furnishings. The guests� culinary needs are taken care of by a main restaurant, an Italian speciality restaurant, a seafood outlet, as well as various bars. The wide range of leisure amenities includes the hotel�s own diving centre as well as a 1500 sqm spa and wellness area. With their generous public areas such as an amphitheatre and state-of-the-art meeting facilities, the hotel is suitable for all sorts of events. The unique pool and water features perfectly round off the image of a modern holiday resort.

There are no pictures available yet of the new project. Visit our Media Lounge for further news, information and pictures: http://www.moevenpick-hotels.com/en/pub/service/media_lounge.cfm M�venpick Hotels & Resorts, an upscale hotel management company with over 12,000 employees, is represented through over 90 hotels existing or under construction in 26 countries with a concentration on its core markets in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The international hotel group with roots in Switzerland is expanding and has a stated objective of increasing its hotel portfolio to 100 by the year 2010. With two hotel types, business and conference hotels, as well as holiday resorts, M�venpick Hotels & Resorts has clearly positioned itself in the upscale segment and stands for quality, reliability and care with a personal touch. The hotel group is owned by M�venpick Holding (66.7%) and the Kingdom Group (33.3%).

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Alain Gozzer Director of Public Relations

M�venpick Hotels & Resorts Management AG Flughofstrasse 61 8152 Glattbrugg, Switzerland Phone +41 44 828 41 44 Fax +41 44 828 40 10 E-Mail: alain.gozzer@moevenpick.com www.moevenpick-hotels.com