BOGOTA, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, along with J.W. Marriott Jr., chairman & chief executive officer of Marriott International, Inc. , and Ricardo Poma, president of Grupo Poma, celebrated the grand opening of the 239-room Bogota Marriott Hotel last evening in Bogota, Colombia. The hotel is operated under a franchise agreement with Real Hotels & Resorts of El Salvador. It is the first Marriott International branded hotel to open in the country.

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"Colombia has emerged as one of the most vibrant markets for development in all of Latin America. We are excited about the potential for many of our Marriott brands throughout the country, such as Courtyard by Marriott, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts, The Ritz-Carlton, and our new luxury boutique Edition brand," said J.W. Marriott Jr., chairman & chief executive officer of Marriott International, Inc. "We are delighted to work with Real Hotels & Resorts on this project, and to introduce our award-winning Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand in Bogota."

Speaking on behalf of Real Hotels & Resorts, Ricardo Poma, the company's president, said, "Colombia remains one of the most dynamic countries in the region. We are thrilled be here to partner with Marriott and celebrate the official opening of the first Marriott Hotel in this beautiful country. We are confident it will become the preferred choice for business travelers visiting the city."

The hotel is located on Avenue El Dorado, in the center of Bogota's newest business and commercial district of Salitre, This vibrant district is adjacent to the city's industrial district which is home to many of the country's largest and most important businesses. It is conveniently located within a 10-minute drive of Bogota's El Dorado International Airport. The general manager is Ricardo Menendez; the director of marketing is Leonel Villasmil. The hotel's state-of-the-art architectural and interior design concept was created by the firm of Miguel Soto Casas y Cia.

The hotel, which is adjacent to a modern office tower, includes a fully equipped business center, and wi-fi in each individual guest room and throughout all public space. For meetings and events, the hotel offers 930 square meters of function space including eight rooms of varying sizes and configuration. The hotel's largest conference space is the ballroom, which covers 372 square meters, ideal for a conference, exhibit, or social event. Other amenities include an expansive fitness center with lap pool and three specialty treatment rooms available for massage or other spa services.

For dining and entertainment the hotel offers Pimento restaurant, serving three meals daily. It was designed by the internationally acclaimed firm, Waterman Design Studio, and includes an outdoor terrace area. The hotel also features Tanoshii Lounge & Sushi Bar, which presents guests with a wide selection of sushi, soups, and tapas. A lobby bar, which offers continental breakfast, is located on the hotel's main level. The lobby lounge area offers expansive views of the hotel terraces and exterior gardens, designed by famed Colombia landscape architect, Ramiro Olarte.

In addition to the Bogota Marriott Hotel, Marriott International and Real Hotels & Resorts will partner on a second Marriott International-flagged hotel in Colombia in 2010, the 264-room JW Marriott Hotel Bogota. The Bogota Marriott, along with over 3,000 Marriott-affiliated hotels worldwide, participate in Marriott Rewards, the guest reward program that allows members to earn their choice of points or airline miles for each dollar spent during each stay.

Marriott Hotels & Resorts inspires your best performance during travel, delivering an experience that helps you work and relax in your own way. Marriott's nearly 500 locations in 60 countries provide genuine care coupled with fresh, classic design, making it the leading choice for travelers and meeting planners. All Marriott hotels participate in the award winning Marriott Rewards frequent travel program that allows members to earn hotel points or airline miles for every dollar spent during each stay. For more information, visit www.marriott.com

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, Inc. is a leading lodging company with more than 3,200 lodging properties in 67 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, The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club and Grand Residences by Marriott brands as well as Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers. The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and had approximately 146,000 employees at 2008 year-end. It is recognized by BusinessWeek as one of the 100 best global brands, by FORTUNE(R) as one of the best companies to work for, and by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as Partner of the Year since 2004. In fiscal year 2008, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of nearly $13 billion. For more information or reservations, please visit our web site at www.marriott.com. For an interactive online version of Marriott's 2008 Annual Report, which includes a short video message from Chairman and CEO J.W. Marriott, Jr., visit www.marriott.com/investor.

Real Hotels & Resorts, Grupo Poma's hospitality division, is a leading lodging company with more than 4,500 available rooms distributed within its 27 hotels opened or under development in the United States, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Real Hotels & Resorts operates its properties in alliance with three renowned hotel chains: Marriott International, InterContinental Hotels Group, and Choice Hotels International. The company is headquartered in San Salvador, El Salvador and had approximately 3,500 employees at 2008 year-end. It is ranked as one of the top hotel management companies in Latin America having received multiple awards and recognitions for its high service and product consistence across its entire property portfolio. For more information or reservations, please visit our web site at www.realhotelsandresorts.com

SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.