POINT CLEAR, Ala., Sept. 21, 2004 - The 157-year-old AAA Four Diamond Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club and Spa will reopen to guests and groups on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2004 at 4 p.m. CST after sustaining minimal damage from Hurricane Ivan.  This is two days earlier than expected due to so many hotel employees pitching in to reopen the resort.

The Grand will reopen with full service available to all guests. This includes Grand Hotel favorites such as the European spa, 500,000-gallon pool, Bucky's Birdcage Lounge and all food and beverage service. The newly renovated Dogwood Golf Course is expected to reopen Friday, Sept. 24 after full power is restored in that area.

"The Grand Hotel is in 'Grand' condition and ready to welcome back our guests," says David Clark, general manager at The Grand. "Our employees have been working hard to prepare the property for reopening. We cleaned away debris as early as Friday morning, just one day after the storm hit. Now, when you drive up to the front entrance, you can't even tell that Hurricane Ivan was here."

Of all the points on the property, the pier, boardwalk and bulkhead were damaged but will be repaired in the very near future. A few trees are down on the property, and some tree limbs are scattered. The golf course is in good shape with debris blown into the rough. No buildings were damaged, and no flooding affected the area.

A few areas on the bayside of The Grand will be barricaded for safety until repairs are made on the pier and boardwalk over the next month. Repairs are scheduled to begin within the next few days.

The Grand closed on Tuesday, September 14, in the mid-afternoon to prepare for Hurricane Ivan's arrival. During the height of the storm, The Riverview Plaza in Mobile served as a base of operations for The Grand, as well as for many national television networks.

"We are very fortunate here at The Grand to have sustained the minimal damage that we did," said Knud Svendsen, vice president of sales for PCH Hotels and Resorts, Inc. "We braced for a direct hit from Ivan, but luckily our historic hotel was spared. Our thoughts go out to our neighbors and friends in nearby communities who didn't fare as well."

"Our guests will be able to enjoy the full Grand experience they've come to know and expect," says Clark.

The 157-year-old Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club and Spa in Point Clear, Alabama (near Mobile) is a AAA Four Diamond, 405-room resort hotel on The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.  A $50 million improvement included development of The Spa, renovation of all guest rooms, improvement of 37,000 square feet of meeting space and renovation of the Dogwood golf course. (Renovation of the Azalea golf course will occur later this year.) 

The Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club and Spa in Point Clear, Alabama; The Legends at Capitol Hill in Prattville, Alabama; The Lodge and Conference Center at Grand National in Opelika, Alabama; Ross Bridge Resort and Spa on The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Hoover, Alabama (opening May 2005); The Shoals Hotel, Conference Center & Spa on The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Florence, Alabama (opening May 2005); and The Battle House Hotel in Mobile, Alabama (re-opening early 2006) are subsidiaries of PCH Hotels & Resorts, Inc.  PCH is funded by the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA), which also has investments in Alabama's Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, US Airways, Raycom Media, 55 Water Street in New York City, Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. and other interests.