The Comfort Inn Rio Centro, located on the Avenida das Americas in Rio de Janiero, is a short distance from the city�s largest exhibition - convention center and its major motor speedway, the Autodromo Internacional Nelson Piquet. Scheduled for completion in August 2002, the hotel features 216 guest rooms, restaurant, lounge, meeting rooms, swimming pool, fitness center and business center.

The Clarion Barra World Shopping, located in the affluent district of Barra da Tijuca, will be constructed beside a major shopping center, Barra Shopping, which draws 2 million visitors per month. The 216-room deluxe hotel features an international restaurant, lobby bar, meeting rooms, swimming pool, fitness center and business center. It is scheduled for completion in December 2002.

As with all Choice Atlantica properties, the Comfort Inn Rio Centro and Clarion Barra World Shopping Hotel provide guests high-quality lodging with significantly greater value than is customarily found in South America.

Formed in 1996, the Choice Atlantica Hotels presently operates 10 hotels and has plans to develop 140 hotels by 2003. �The fact that we have 50 properties on board in such a short period of time confirms that the people who travel to South America, particularly business travelers, want real hotel choices,� said Paul J. Sistare, president and CEO of Choice Atlantica Hotels. �Whether they choose a limited-service hotel such as a Sleep Inn or Comfort Inn or a full-service hotel like a Clarion or Quality, travelers are quickly catching on that it makes sense to pay only for those amenities they want or need.�

Choice Atlantica Hotels owns the master franchise agreement for development of Choice Hotel products in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia. Among the company�s brands are Sleep Inns, Comfort Inns, Hotels & Suites, Quality Inns, Hotels & Suites, and Clarion Inns, Hotels, Suites & Resorts. All four franchise flags provide clean, safe, comfortable facilities at rates business and leisure travelers can afford. While the hotels offer different rate and service options, they consistently feature a high level of quality.
�Because no two hotel opportunities are the same, and we custom-tailor our approach for each situation, we have become recognized as South America�s client-solutions company by hotel owners and developers,� said Sistare.

The Choice Atlantica Hotels portfolio presently includes four hotels in Brazil, three in Argentina, one in Uruguay and two in Chile.  The company also operates toll-free reservations centers in Sao Paulo, Santiago and Buenos Aires.