ATLANTA (June 16, 2005) - InterContinental Hotels Group announced today the opening of its newest 197-room Crowne Plaza hotel in Knoxville, Tenn., with plans to complete a $1.5 million renovation by the end of 2005.

"This is the 7th opening for the Crowne Plaza brand in North America this year," said Kevin Kowalski, vice president, brand management, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts.  "We are excited to be growing our portfolio in such a great business market.  We look forward to providing our industry leading meetings service and a great night's sleep via our Sleep Advantage program to our guests in Knoxville."

The Crowne Plaza Knoxville, which is owned and managed by Executive Hotel Management, under a license agreement with a company in the InterContinental Hotels Group, is located at 401 W. Summit Hill Dr., Knoxville, Tenn., 37902.  The hotel was formerly known as the Radisson Knoxville.

"We are thrilled to be the first Crowne Plaza in the state of Tennessee," said Kenneth Knight, general manager. 

The 12-story building is newly designed with traditional décor, incorporating marble and deep mahogany accents throughout. Other renovations include: new carpet, window treatments and wall coverings in all guest rooms; the addition of granite countertops in guest bathrooms as well as new carpet in the hotel's common areas. 

Mahogany's, the hotel's restaurant, features casual American cuisine seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Library Lounge offers light fare and cocktails in the evenings as well as specialty coffees, which are also available in the mornings.

The Crowne Plaza Knoxville has nearly 16,000 sq.-ft. of function space including two ballrooms and two meeting rooms.

Guestrooms feature the newly introduced Crowne Plaza Sleep Advantage which is available at all Crowne Plaza hotels in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.  The Sleep Advantage encompasses the entire sleep experience, from training staff on how to create and maintain a restful environment to providing innovative products and services. Program components include new bedding, guaranteed wake-up calls, designated quiet zones, night lights, drape clips, sleep CDs, sleep tips and amenities such as eye masks, ear plugs and lavender spray. 

The 265,000 sq.-ft. property is conveniently located in the central business district of downtown Knoxville. 

With the addition of the Crowne Plaza Knoxville, the InterContinental Hotels Group portfolio in Tennessee is represented by five of its brands including the upscale, full service, limited service, upscale extended stay and mid-scale extended stay segments with 62 hotels and more than 8,600 rooms.

As part of the InterContinental Hotels Group global portfolio, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts has more than 200 hotels in 48 countries, and are located in major urban centers, gateway cities and resort destinations. In 2004, Crowne Plaza added more properties than during any of the past five years. 

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC of the United Kingdom [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms.