MIAMI, Feb. 3 / Spain-based Sol Melia Hotels is growing at tremendous speed in Latin America and will add 22 business hotels in Brazil alone by the end of 2001. Most of the new hotels will be in and around Sao Paulo.

"Sao Paulo is an enormous city, and travelers need a wide variety of locations and services in different business districts of the city," said Rui Olivera, vice president for Sol Melia in South America and general manager of the Gran Melia Sao Paulo Hotel & WTC Convention Center. "There is much opportunity for our four-star, comfortable hotels that offer updated services. No other competition matches us in this category."

In Sao Paulo, 22 Sol Melia hotels will open within the next two years. Hotels to open in 2000 include the 214-room Melia Confort World Trade Center, the 142-room Melia Confort Itaim, and the 136-room Melia Confort Fortaleza, in Ceara, Brazil. The 164-room Melia Confort Jardins will be near the city's major financial district, while the 208-room Melia Confort Tatuape, opening Dec. 2000, is in close proximity to the international airport. Opening Nov. 2000, the 308-room Melia Confort Nova Faria Lima will be part of the International Trade Center complex, a structure that will include the hotel and an office building which houses 250 businesses.

Sol Melia and the Brazilian company Odebrecht have signed a joint-venture agreement to develop hotel projects in Brazil's main airports. One of the first of the fruits of this agreement has been the joint venture's recent selection by Infraero, the state-owned company that operates all of the country's hotels, to build a new hotel in the Rio de Janeiro International Airport. The Melia Confort Galeao hotel will be managed by Sol Melia, located in the airport's Terminal 2 and providing 200 guest rooms. The hotel will require a total investment of 2,790 million pesetas (16.76 million euros) and construction is scheduled to begin in May.

Other hotels opening in 2001 in Sao Paulo include: the 323-room Melia Confort Jardim Europa, the 252-room Melia Confort Higienopolis, and the 160-room Melia Confort Moema.

The hotels opening in 2002 in Sao Paulo include: the 200-room Melia Confort Berrini, the 210-room Melia Confort Iguatemi, the 151-room Melia Confort Jesuino Arruda, the 396-room Melia Confort Office Park, the 154-room Melia Confort Paulista, and the 400-room Sol Inn Nacoes Unidas.

In March 2002, Sol Melia will unveil the Melia Confort Brasilia, a 338-room property that will be part of the Brazil 21st Century Complex, a development to be constructed in Brasilia, Brazil, during the next five years. Also in Brasilia three hotels will open within the next few years. The 260-room Melia Confort Suites (South Tower) will open in March 2001, and the 260-room Melia Confort North Tower will open in 2002.

Other Sol Melia hotels with expected openings in 2002 include the 224-room Melia Confort Barra (First Class) located in Rio de Janeiro, the 215-room Melia Confort Castelo Branco in Barueri/Alphaville, the 300-room Melia Confort Guarulhos in Guarulhos, and the 80-room Sol Inn Porto Alegre in Porto Alegre. Sol Melia is one of the world's most successful hotel companies with its three brands – Melia Hotels, Sol Hotels and Paradisus Resorts – totaling more than 250 hotels in 25 countries. Sol Melia's 2000 expansion plans include new properties in Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Peru and throughout Asia Pacific and Europe.

Individual reservations for any Melia Hotel, Sol Hotel or Paradisus Resort can be made through a travel agent or by calling toll-free (800) 33-MELIA (63542). Group reservations can be made through your professional meeting and incentive planner or through Sol Melia's group desk (CIMAS) by calling toll-free 1-888-33-MELIA or via e-mail: [email protected]. Hotel information can also be obtained by accessing Sol Melia on the World Wide Web at www.solmelia.com .