The resort, which offers a panoramic view of Colorado's San Juan Mountains, will have 51 two-bedroom units and 51 three-bedroom units that are designed to permit vacationers to "lock off" one bedroom as a separate suite. Fairfield Durango's amenities will include a clubhouse, indoor pool and exercise room, and an outdoor pool with a spa area, deck and gazebo.

This is Fairfield's third property under development in the western U.S., which the Company has targeted for expansion. Fairfield, which owns and operates resorts in Flagstaff, Arizona, Ventura, California, and Pagosa Springs, Colorado, also is developing properties in Sedona, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada, which will serve as the Company's western flagship and its base for ongoing expansion throughout that region.

Durango offers a wide range of historical, archaeological and outdoor recreational activities. Fairfield's resort is located within a mile of the Hillcrest Golf Club, within 30 minutes of Tamarron Golf Course and other popular golf courses, and within 45 minutes of the
nationally-known Purgatory ski area. Mesa Verde National Park, which is open year-round and welcomes more than a half-million visitors annually, is just 35 miles away. Here, visitors can tour cliff dwellings and numerous Mesa top villages built by Ancestral Pueblo people during the millennium before Europeans arrived in North America. Also nearby are the Crow Canyon and Chimney Rock Archaeological Areas and the Chaco Canyon, Hovenweep, Canyon de Chelly and Aztec Ruins National Monuments. For family fun, vacationers can enjoy local attractions such as chuckwagon suppers, a ride through the mountains on the steam- operated Durango  Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, and a tour of the Old Hundred Gold Mine.

"This is an exciting addition to our portfolio of properties, which now will include six resorts in the Western U.S. Our plans to develop this property and the Sedona and Las Vegas resorts demonstrate our commitment to expanding in this market and strengthening our brand recognition among prospective buyers in the West," said Franz Hanning, Fairfield's Chief Operating Officer. "Visitors to Fairfield Durango can enjoy year-round outdoor recreational activities, witness nature at its most spectacular, and relax amid all the luxuries of a first-class quality resort."

Fairfield Communities, Inc., incorporated in 1969, is one of the nation's largest vacation ownership companies, providing quality recreational experiences at twenty-six locations in 12 states and the Bahamas, to approximately 240,000 Fairfield property owners.

This release may contain forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of Fairfield with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties relating to Fairfield's estimates of the amounts of costs and expenses that will ultimately be incurred in connection with the mergers and related activities and to assumptions and judgements made in applying generally accepted accounting principles thereto. As a result of those matters and the factors identified in the last two paragraphs of Management's Discussion and Analysis entitled "Forward-Looking Information" of Fairfield's 1997 Annual Report to Stockholders, actual results may vary significantly from those contemplated herein.