�We are so pleased to offer our guests such a fine ski destination as Beaver Creek in our resort portfolio,� said Horst Schulze. �The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch will be the ultimate year-round resort destination for our discerning travelers.�

�In just 19 short years, Beaver Creek has earned a reputation as one of the best and most luxurious ski resorts in the world,� commented Adam Aron. �With the coming of The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, that reputation will not only be cemented, but, in fact, be taken to a higher level. And the addition of this wonderful property will certainly enhance the year-round amenities and attraction of Beaver Creek Mountain.� �This project presents our company with the extraordinary opportunity to develop a five-star hotel in North America�s finest ski-in/ski-out location�particularly with two partners whose reputations in providing the highest quality experience to their guests has put them at the top of their respective industries,� said Kim Richards, president of Vestar-Athens.

The proposed 240-room resort hotel, to be situated just steps away from the Bachelor Gulch Express high-speed quad lift, will offer guests a convenient ski-in/ski-out location. Bachelor Gulch is the central ski village of the popular �Village-to-Village� ski experience on Beaver Creek Mountain. Hotel guests will be able to access over 1,625 acres of ski/snowboard terrain between the villages of Beaver Creek, Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead directly from the hotel lobby.

The hotel is being designed to offer three restaurants for both indoor and outdoor seating as well as The Lobby Lounge and Library Bar for apres ski activities. Current floor plans feature five meeting rooms totaling 4,480 square feet that will complement a 7,800-square-foot ballroom. A ski-in/ski-out lounge for the members of the Bachelor Gulch Club will also be included. A 20,000-square-foot spa and fitness center, including an outdoor pool, is featured in the design, as well as a 1,500-square-foot Ritz Kids center. The legacy of superb and award-winning service by the staff of The Ritz-Carlton hotels worldwide will set the resort apart in the Rocky Mountains.

Hotel guests also will be able to access the Red Sky Ranch Golf Club, a new 18-hole championship course designed by Tom Fazio. Construction of the course, located 10 miles west of Bachelor Gulch, is expected to begin in the spring of 2000. The course is projected to open in the summer of 2002.  A limited number of privately owned luxury penthouse residences are also planned to be built above The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch and are scheduled to be offered in late fall 1999. These residences will feature access to all of the amenities and services of The Ritz-Carlton.

The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch is being designed and will be built according to the strict design guidelines of Bachelor Gulch, which were inspired by the architectural themes of the grand lodges of such national parks as Grand Teton, Zion, Yellowstone and Yosemite. The hotel will feature a variety of materials such as logs, timbers, stone and other indigenous natural materials.

In addition to a wide range of winter sports and cultural activities offered in the Vail Valley of Colorado, where Beaver Creek Mountain is located, a variety of summer activities such as hiking, mountain biking, fly fishing, and numerous cultural and culinary events will also be available to hotel guests.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. manages 35 hotels and resorts in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, Mexico and the Middle East. 

Vail Resorts, Inc. is the premier destination mountain resort operator in North America, operating the Colorado resorts of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone, as well as the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson, Wyoming. 

Vestar-Athens is a full-service real estate company that specializes in the development of upscale resort communities, resort hotels, golf courses and related recreational properties throughout the western United States. Vestar-Athens has developed a number of premier resort hotels in the West, and most recently, has begun construction of a 261-room Ritz-Carlton Resort Hotel in Half Moon Bay, California.