CHICAGO-Strategic Hotel Capital (SHC), a private hotel investment company with assets valued at approximately $3 billion, today announced that four of its hotels, or roughly 15 percent of its entire portfolio, have received Mobil Four-Star ratings for 2002.

Only 240 properties among the thousands of hotels in the U.S. and Canada achieve the level of excellence required for the Four-Star designation.

The company also said that Alain Ducasse at the Essex House, the New York restaurant named for and owned by the world-renowned chef and located in SHC's Essex House Hotel, was the only restaurant added this year to Mobil's elite list of Five-Star restaurants in the U.S. Nationwide, there are only 14 restaurants that received Mobil's Five-Star designation for 2002. In December, the Alain Ducasse also received a rare four-star dining review from The New York Times, the newspaper's most prestigious culinary acknowledgement.

"As a hotel owner, it's one thing to believe that your properties are among the finest in the industry," said Laurence Geller, chief executive officer of Strategic Hotel Capital. "It's something else entirely when ExxonMobil Travel Publications agrees with you. We are extremely pleased to have our hotels so recognized. Our goal has always been to utilize our strong asset management team to work collaboratively with our operators to ensure a consistently high level of service and facilities at our properties worldwide."

ExxonMobil Travel Publications publishes the Mobil Travel Guide, whose independent culinary and hospitality experts annually review and recognize the nation's best hotels and restaurants. A five-star designation means that the recipient provides an unequivocal level of service, quality and ambience. Mobil Four-Star Awards honor properties for exceptional achievement in guest accommodation and attention to detail.

Strategic Hotel Capital's hotel recipients of Mobil's 2002 Four-Star ratings are: Hyatt Regency La Jolla, San Diego, Calif.; Park Hyatt San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif.; The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, Calif.; and Essex House, A Westin Hotel, New York, New York.

Headquartered in Chicago, Ill., Strategic Hotel Capital currently owns 27 luxury and upscale hotels and resorts in the U.S., North America and Europe. The company acquires and aggressively asset manages larger hotels, properties with 200-plus rooms, in markets with unique, hard-to-duplicate locations with high barriers to additional competition.

Selected hotels in SHC's portfolio include the Essex House, a Westin Hotel, New York City; The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, Calif; the Four Seasons Mexico City and Four Seasons Punta Mita, both in Mexico; the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero and the Park Hyatt, both in San Francisco; the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans and on Capital Hill, Washington D.C.; the Marriott Hamburg, Germany; the Hotel Inter-Continental Praha, Prague, Czech Republic; and the Marriott Champs Elysees in Paris.

SHC (www.shci.com) is a privately held, limited liability company whose major stakeholders include the Whitehall funds and Prudential Insurance Co. of America.

Jerry Daly
703/435-6293
Strategic Hotels & Resorts