The Nazareth Marriott Hotel will be prominently located on a hilltop overlooking the Old City of Nazareth, the Basilica of Annunciation and the wider Galilee area.

�Marriott International has long wanted a presence in Israel with a Marriott-flagged property,� said Ed Fuller, president and managing director of Marriott Lodging International. �This is a first-step into the country with a high-quality hotel that will dominate the Nazareth market.�

�Obtaining Israel�s first Marriott franchise reflects both the property�s quality and our commitment to manage the hotel at the highest international standards,� said Stephen Mendell, HEI Mid-East Hotels, Ltd. president. �Affiliation with the world-renown brand will be a major factor in attracting business and leisure travelers to the property.�

The Nazareth Marriott Hotel will feature an executive floor with special amenities designed for international business and leisure travelers, including a private executive lounge. It will also have 5,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, two restaurants, a coffee shop, a lobby lounge, a health club, an outdoor swimming pool within a large well-landscaped garden area, several small retail shops and parking for approximately 100 automobiles and six buses.

Marriott Lodging is currently represented in Israel by the 340-room Tel Aviv Ramada Hotel and the 642-room Renaissance Jerusalem Hotel.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, the Marriott Lodging system has five additional hotels under development. They include the 141-room Ritz-Carlton Dubai (1998), the 150-room Madinah Marriott Hotel in Saudi Arabia (1999), the 212-room Jordan Valley Marriott Resort at the Dead Sea in Jordan (1999), the 355-room Mirage City Marriott Resort Cairo (2000) and the 292-room Abu Dhabi Marriott Hotel in the United Arab Emirates (2000). Another 14 properties are currently in operation offering more than 5,513 rooms and spanning three lodging brands � Marriott, Renaissance and Ramada International.