The 360 guest room and suite resort boasts a sea water lagoon with private beach, a health club, a fresh water swimming pool, disco club, tennis courts, a shopping mall and an ostrich farm.  There are three restaurants catering to guests at the hotel.  The surrounding area is renowned for scuba diving and snorkeling and is near two national parks and St. Catherine�s Monastery.

This is the first of 17 development projects in Egypt, that will include Hostmark Hotels and Resorts, Ramada Plaza, Howard Johnson Plaza and Wyndham franchises.
The international expansion underway for the Schaumburg, Ill.-based company includes a master license agreement for Egypt with Cendant Global Services B.V. and Howard Johnson International.

The first Hostmark flag is planned for a Hostmark Resort in Taba scheduled for a July 1, 2000 opening.  The hotel with 291 guest rooms and 15 luxury suites is 210 miles from Cairo and 10 miles from Israel and Jordan.  The resort, located in the Sinai desert near the Red Sea, has a fresh water swimming pool, its own sandy beach, a state-of-the-art health club, volleyball, tennis, squash, handball and basketball courts.  Dining facilities include a restaurant serving breakfast and dinner pool side and one offering lunch and snacks along the beach.  For evening entertainment, there is a disco club and a lounge pub, both with live entertainment.  Guests can also enjoy superb diving and snorkeling and desert safaris by jeep or camel.

The second Hostmark hotel, the Hostmark Oriental Resort, on the Sharm Nabq Bay, has a planned November opening.   It is located a few minutes from the airport.  The 5-star resort has 272 guest rooms and suites, a main dining room and specialty restaurant, lobby lounge, pool cafe, beach cafe, disco and a health club with extensive exercise and spa facilities.   

The new Hostmark regional office in Cairo will provide operational, engineering, sales and marketing support for all operating properties. 

Edward Richter, vice president of sales and marketing, Hostmark Hospitality Group, USA, announced the start of Hostmark�s W.A.Y. (We Appreciate You) charity program in Egypt.  W.A.Y. will provide donations to specific charities in appreciation and support of the local community.  During his visit, Richter visited the National Cancer Institute and the Awlady orphanage in Maadi, both recipients of funds from the program.  Richter was accompanied on his visit by Igial El Gamal, public relations manager and Kathleen Banner, director of corporate relations.

Hostmark Hospitality  Group is the largest privately held independent third-party hospitality management and development firm in the country, operating more than 43 hotels and resorts worldwide.

Founded in 1965, Hostmark is a full service management firm providing sales & marketing, human resources, food & beverage operations, accounting, finance, information systems, construction, design, development support and consulting services to full-service and limited-service hotels, resorts and conference centers in the United States, Canada and the Middle East.

Headquartered in Schaumburg, Ill, Hostmark has offices in Orlando, Fla.;  Washington, D.C.; Denver, Colo.; and Cairo, Egypt.