The Honorable Carl T.C. Gutierrez, governor of Guam, was the guest of honor and christened the structure's final concrete slab with a bottle of Cristal champagne before it was lifted 20 stories and fitted into place at the top of the building.

During the ceremony, Perry Sorenson, chief operating officer for Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, presented engraved koa wood paddles to Governor Gutierrez and hotel owner representatives Donna Ysrael, Michael Ysrael and Alfred Ysrael of Tanota Partners. According to Sorenson, the paddles were given "to signify Outrigger's connection as hosts welcoming friends and guests in this new place of business for Outrigger in the Pacific."

When complete, the 600-room Outrigger Guam Resort will be the second largest property on Guam and the only hotel on the island with a full service spa. Mandara Spa will open shortly after the opening of the hotel with an 8,000 square foot, full service spa facility. The Hard Rock Cafe Guam will anchor the street side of the complex, along with the now open Plaza retail shopping complex. In addition, the hotel will have an exclusive top floor Voyagers Club, business center, meeting and banquet facilities, a wedding chapel, large beachfront pool and recreation area, including a water slide, and all the features of a deluxe, four-star resort.

In anticipation of the hotel's opening, Kevin Matsuoka recently transferred from Outrigger's corporate sales office to Guam and has assumed the position of director of sales for the property. Outrigger also has been promoting the Outrigger Guam Resort at various trade shows, including the Japan Association of Travel Agent's 1997 Japan Congress of International Travel in Tokyo this past November and the Dive Equipment & Marketing Association's recent trade show in California.

The Outrigger Guam Resort is part of a world-class hotel and retail complex being developed by Tanota Partners of Guam on beachfront land at Tumon Bay. It is located directly across the street from Duty Free Shoppers' flagship store on San Vitores Road. The four phases of the project are inter-connected so that visitors can walk from one end to the other without ever having to step outside. The project includes 138,000 square feet of retail space, an estimated 30,000 square feet of food services and the 600-room Outrigger Guam Resort, with water park and beach facilities.

� Phase I at the southern-most portion of the project incorporates cafe style establishments with evening entertainment spots. The eateries on the first floor include Donburi Ya, Le Creperie, Bullys (a bar and grill) and Vitales Pizzeria. The second floor is home to a popular karaoke lounge called Club Kyoto and the tropical jazz bar Trades. The anchor tenant is Hakubotan, a locally based duty free boutique specializing in designer fashions.

� Phase II of the project is located between Phases I and IV. This upscale shopping complex is being developed by Comete Guam Inc., an affiliate of Blue Bell Inc. and the LVMH group. This is an entertainment complex, anchored by a 300 foot, 1/2 million gallon, walk through tunnel aquarium. Additional proposed tenants for the site include a mega-style record store and high tech virtual reality gaming center. There will also be a thirty-foot high, enclosed glass seafood restaurant that will be suspended above San Vitores Road. On the southern end of the complex, Phase II will have direct access into Hakubotan. The opposite end will connect to the main lobby of the Outrigger Guam Resort via a sky bridge.

� Phase III, at the northern end of the project, is known as The Plaza and offers a unique retail and restaurant environment for tourists and local clientele. The Plaza's first and second floors are filled with approximately 50,000 square feet of name brands, including Liberty House, CK, Renoma, DKNY, Lacroix Jeans, L'Occitane, Folli Follie, Splash Guam, Body and Soul, Le Sportsac, Secrets, Nara Camiche, Charles Jordan, Peek A Boo! and Footlocker, to name a few. The second floor branches into an 8,000 square foot food court, which will eventually hold seven different food service concepts. The Plaza is connected to the Outrigger Guam Resort's main lobby.
 
� The Outrigger Guam Resort makes up Phase IV of the project. A 22-story tower is being built above approximately 26,000 square feet of townhouse style couture shops and one of the largest Hard Rock Cafes, fronting San Vitores Road. The Outrigger Guam Resort will be the second largest property on Guam when it opens in October 1998 and will house the only full service spa on the island�the 8,000 square foot Mandara Spa. The hotel will also have an exclusive top floor Voyagers Club, business center, meeting and banquet facilities, a wedding chapel, large beachfront pool and recreation area, including a water slide, and all the features of a deluxe four-star resort.

The Outrigger Guam Resort is managed by Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, Hawaii�s largest hotel company and the 28th largest in the U.S., offering over 9,000 hotel rooms and condominium units in Hawaii. It has become a major player in the Pacific resort scene, with properties open in the Marshall Islands and Queensland, Australia, and projects currently underway on Guam, Palau, Tahiti, Bora Bora and Fiji. Last year marked the company's 50th anniversary of doing business in Hawaii. Outrigger's affiliate, Outrigger Lodging Services, manages nearly two dozen hotels and resorts throughout the U.S. mainland.

For reservations or information, call Outrigger Hotels & Resorts toll-free at 1-800-OUTRIGGER (1-800-688-7444) within the U.S., Guam and Canada. Outrigger's toll-free number also is available from 130 countries via AT&T's new Direct 80~ Service. Elsewhere call 303-369-7777. Internet users can access information on Outrigger via the World Wide Web at www.outrigger.com. Outrigger's e-mail address is [email protected]