Marriott International to expand its Dubai portfolio with two hotels in the Dubai Internet City Free Zone

The hotels are the:

• 300-room Courtyard by Marriott RiverWalk, Dubai Internet City

• 120-unit Marriott Executive Apartments RiverWalk, Dubai Internet City

When opened, the properties will be the second moderately-priced Courtyard and third Marriott Executive Apartments for extended stay travelers in Dubai.

The hotels' location will comprise a single site within Dubai's RiverWalk, a $1 billion, mixed use development in Dubai Internet City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It has direct access from the Sheikh Zayed Road, which is the main artery road between the old city center and Jebel Ali, where the new Dubai Airport is being constructed. Bordering Dubai Internet City are the neighboring Dubai Media city and Dubai Knowledge Village, both of which will provide a strong base of business travelers in the direct vicinity of the hotels.

The hotels will be part of a 130,000 square meter land parcel that will include over 460,000 square meters of office, residential and retail space. With its central location, the hotels will have direct views of the artificial river and island and will be surrounded by a boulevard with retail and food and beverage outlets on either side.

"As a destination and travel market, Dubai continues to be amazing and is moving at an incredible pace with impressive demand growth meeting the significant supply growth year over year," said Ed Fuller, president and managing director for international lodging at Marriott. "We welcome the opportunity to add to our lodging portfolio in Dubai in this emerging business district of Dubai."

W. Jonathan Wride, managing director of Capital Partners, said, "RiverWalk has been designed as a live-walk community, providing inspiring offices and residential apartments, boutique shops, galleries and restaurants. We needed to ensure the RiverWalk concept reflected its location in the center of one of the fastest growing cities in the world.

Todd Thiel, managing director of Capital Partners in the U.S. added, "For us, it was essential to work with a global hotel brand that truly understands the needs of the business traveler while creating a quality environment at competitive prices. Marriott was the natural partner for the project."

For dining and entertainment, the Courtyard by Marriott RiverWalk, Dubai Internet City will offer a casual restaurant offering a "Grab & Go" kiosk and an internet café, a specialty restaurant, and a lobby lounge and bar. Recreational amenities will include a swimming pool and a health and leisure club providing men's and women's locker rooms with separate sauna/whirlpool and fitness room. Other amenities include a business center, 24-hour room service offering a limited menu and in-room mini-bar. For small conferences and social events, the hotel will have 3,200 square feet of space providing a 2,000 square foot main meeting room that will be divisible into two sections and a three 400 square foot boardrooms.

The Marriott Executive Apartments RiverWalk, Dubai Internet City will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom stylishly-furnished units with fully-equipped kitchens, entertainment systems, two telephone lines with fax and dataport, voice messaging and direct line. Public amenities include a private resident lounge, additional storage, intimate and welcoming lobby with mailboxes and seating area and parking. Residents will share dining and recreational amenities with the Courtyard hotel. Additional services offered to residents include a resident socialization program (pre-arrival consultation, welcome orientation, city tour and hospitality hours), housekeeping, grocery and newspaper delivery, room service, complimentary morning coffee and tea, laundry delivery, flexible lease terms and round-the-clock staffing.

The Marriott International lodging portfolio in Dubai currently is represented by the 351-room JW Marriott Dubai, the 281-room Renaissance Dubai, the 172-unit Marriott Executive Apartments Dubai, the 165-room Courtyard by Marriott Green Community, the 43-unit Marriott Executive Apartments Green Community.