The joint venture has appointed Morgan Stanley to act as its financial advisor on the sale of the 18 U.S. properties, as well as six hotels in Spain.  Pyramid Advisors, a Boston-based hotel company, has been named as asset manager of the 18 U.S. hotels until they are sold.

The joint venture has owned and managed up to 30 hotels in the United States, Europe and Mexico since it was formed in 1998.  Following the sale of the hotels, BBVA and Grucycsa will transfer their holdings in Grubarges to Grupo Barceló, a division of Barceló, which will retain ownership of the venture�s four Mexican assets.  �We believe the U.S. hotel industry is on the upswing, creating an excellent opportunity to implement our exit strategy,� said a spokesperson for Grubarges.  �The portfolio consists of well-located hotels that have excellent turnaround and upside potential.  This will likely be one of the largest and most desirable portfolios on the market in 2004.  In fact, prior to making the decision to sell the properties, we had already received a significant amount of interest from potential buyers.  Morgan Stanley will be marketing the properties in what is designed to be a broad, dynamic auction process.�

The U.S. properties, totaling 4,104 rooms, include two Clarion hotels, 13 Four Points by Sheraton hotels, one Sheraton hotel and two Radisson hotels.  The properties are located in 12 states and the District of Columbia, in such major cities as Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., as well as several major northern New Jersey suburbs.  �We will be flexible in our marketing approach and may sell the hotels in one portfolio, several smaller portfolios or individually, depending on market conditions,� said a spokesperson for Grubarges. 

The 18 U.S. hotels to be sold are:  (Total rooms: 4,104)

• Clarion Hotel O�Hare International Airport - Chicago, Ill. 243 rooms
• Clarion Hotel Detroit Metro Airport - Detroit, Mich. 153 rooms
• Four Points by Sheraton Burlington - Burlington, Mass. 180 rooms
• Four Points by Sheraton Culver City - Culver City, Calif. 199 rooms
• Four Points by Sheraton Denver University  - Denver, Colo. 245 rooms
• Four Points by Sheraton Newark Airport - Elizabeth, N.J. 260 rooms
• Four Points by Sheraton Kansas City, Country Club Plaza - Kansas City, Mo. 241 rooms
• Four Points by Sheraton Lexington - Lexington, Ky. 174 rooms
• Four Points by Sheraton Monrovia - Monrovia, Calif. 149 rooms
• Four Points by Sheraton Oakbrook - Oakbrook, Ill. 228 rooms
• Four Points by Sheraton Phoenix Metrocenter - Phoenix, Ariz. 284 rooms
• Four Points by Sheraton Piscataway - Piscataway, N.J. 206 rooms
• Four Points by Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport - Pittsburgh, Pa. 140 rooms
• Four Points by Sheraton San Rafael - San Rafael, Calif. 235 rooms
• Four Points by Sheraton Waltham - Waltham, Mass. 148 rooms
• Radisson Hotel Orlando - Orlando, Fla. 522 rooms
• Radisson Hotel Washington - Washington, D.C. 301 rooms
• Sheraton Hotel Annapolis - Annapolis, Md. 196 rooms