DALLAS/HOUSTON, and SCOTTSDALE, AZ- May 7, 1998 - Park Plaza International Hotels, Inns and Resorts today announced that it has acquired The Warwick Hotel, one of Houston's most-recognized hotels, strategically located in the heart of the city's cultural district.

Built in 1926, the 308-room Warwick has many outstanding attributes, including European-style architecture with imported marble from Portugal, priceless antique tapestries, hand-carved French paneling, The Hunt Room for fine dining, Cafe Vienna, an outdoor swimming pool, an exercise room with saunas, and more than 23,000 square-feet of function and meeting space.

The property will be renamed The Warwick Park Plaza Hotel and a complete restoration will be immediately undertaken to improve and enhance the hotel's exterior, public areas, guest rooms, and meeting and function space. Completion of the project is expected in early 1999.

David B. Deniger, President and Chief Executive Officer of Olympus Real Estate Corporation, said: "We have long recognized The Warwick as one of the outstanding Hotel properties in the United States. We look forward to working with its management to restore its original grandeur as Houston's most respected hotel."

Jonathan Read, President and Chief Executive Officer of Park Plaza International, said: "We are pleased to add this magnificent hotel to our growing portfolio of domestic and international properties. After recently completing substantial growth investments in Europe and Asia, The Warwick becomes our first U.S. acquisition since we partnered with Olympus Real Estate Corporation last year, and it represents the beginning of what we expect will be an aggressive domestic acquisition program for the Park Plaza brand. We intend to acquire other hotel properties in major U.S. gateway cities that both appeal to our customer base and complement our established overseas presence."

Founded in 1986, Park Plaza International Hotels, Inns and Resorts is a full-service hotel company providing operating, management, marketing, licensing and design services. Currently ranked as the 28th largest hotel management group worldwide, Park Plaza has more than 180 hotels in operation or under contract in 21 countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Central America, Africa, the United States and Canada. Park Plaza International Hotels, Inns and Resorts includes the Park Inn International chain and the upscale Park Plaza Hotel brand. In October 1997, Olympus Real Estate Corporation acquired a majority interest in Park Plaza.

Olympus Real Estate Corporation, with offices in Dallas and New York, invests in real estate equities, mortgages and securities in major markets throughout the United States. Olympus was formed in May 1994 by Hicks, Muse, Tate  Furst Incorporated and David B. Deniger. Since its formation, Olympus has completed approximately $2.1 billion in real estate investments including numerous hotels and commercial, residential and golf-related projects throughout the United States and abroad. Hospitality investments to date have included The Boca Raton Resort and Club, The Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage in southern California, The Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston, The Cheeca Lodge in the Florida Keys, The Algonquin Hotel in midtown Manhattan, and La Posada in Santa Fe.