The hotel is the first Comfort brand property in Argentina and the second in all of South America.  Last month, Choice Atlantica Hotels added the Comfort Hotel & Suites - Trianon Park in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Located near Plaza San Martin, a beautiful central plaza in an affluent section of Buenos Aires, the 103-unit hotel features studio, one- and two-bedroom suites and two small meeting rooms. 

Beginning immediately, a three-month upgrade will be launched to add business-traveler-friendly business class rooms featuring ergonomic chairs, spacious desks, efficient telecommunications, conveniently located dataports for PC modems and electronic locks.  The hotel is a short walk from a wide variety of trendy shops and restaurants located along the Florida Street pedestrian mall.  Guests receive a complimentary deluxe continental breakfast.  Rates range from $US120 to $US205.

�This hotel offers business and leisure travelers alike everything they need, but guests don�t pay for services they�ll never use, like banquet spaces and spas,� said Paul J. Sistare, president and CEO of Choice Atlantica Hotels. �The limited-service hotel concept has arrived in Argentina, and we firmly believe that travelers will respond favorably to this hotel just as they have to Choice products in other markets throughout the world.�

In addition to the Comfort Inn & Suites - Esmeralda, other Choice Atlantica Hotels properties presently operating in South America include the Comfort Hotel & Suites - Trianon Park in Sao Paulo, Clarion Hotel Principado, Quality Bonaparte Hotel and Quality El Conquistador, all in Santiago.  A Sleep Inn � the first in South America � will open in Miraflores, an affluent suburb of Lima, Peru in January 1999.  Choice Atlantica Hotels expects to open more than 140 Choice hotels in South America within the next five years.  The company has the master franchise agreement to develop Choice hotel products � Comfort Inns, Comfort Suites, Quality Inns, Quality Suites, Clarions and Sleep Inns � in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE: CHH) has more than 4,000 hotels, inns, all-suite hotels and resorts open and under development in 34 countries and was recently named the #1 lodging company by Entrepreneur magazine in the publication�s annual Franchise 500 ranking.