Interstate Hotels & Resorts (Merged Meristar & Interstate)

ARLINGTON, Va., Interstate Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:IHR) , one of the nation's largest independent hotel management companies, today announced that the company has been selected to manage two Boston-area hotels recently acquired by affiliates of CapStar Hotel Company LLC, a newly formed hotel investment company: the 143-room Copley Square Hotel in Boston and the 148-room Hilton Garden Inn in Waltham. Interstate also will oversee a major renovation of the Copley Square property to bring it to four-star status.

Paul Whetsell, founder and CEO of CapStar, is chairman of the board of Interstate Hotels & Resorts. "We are delighted to be working with Paul and his new company," said Thomas F. Hewitt, Interstate's chief executive officer. "Paul has more than 30 years of experience investing in hotel real estate and is a savvy buyer with a proven record of success. We are very optimistic about the future operating potential of both of these hotels. We look forward to the opportunity to further build on our relationship with CapStar."

Copley Square

Located at the corner of Huntington Avenue and Exeter Street in Boston's fashionable Back Bay district, the Copley Square is surrounded by numerous demand generators including historical tourist sites, multiple universities and upscale retail outlets, including The Shops at Copley Place, featuring more than 100 upscale boutiques and restaurants. The hotel also is proximate to the Hynes Convention Center and Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.

The seven-story landmark hotel currently has a distinctly European feel. There are 143 guest rooms that include six family suites, as well as three food and beverage outlets at the hotel: The Back Bay Cafe, Saint and Domani. The renovation is scheduled to begin within the next several months.

Hilton Garden Inn-Waltham

Located at 420 Totten Pond Road, nine miles from downtown Boston, the 148- room, select service Hilton Garden Inn Waltham is in the center of Massachusetts' high technology and business corridor, surrounded by many of the nation's top technology companies, such as Polaroid, Verizon, Microsoft, IBM, and Lycos, and four miles from Hanscom Air Force Base. It is also near the historic sites of Lexington and Concord and the educational centers of Brandeis, Bentley and Boston College. The hotel completed a major renovation approximately a year ago when it converted to the Hilton Garden Inn flag.

Hotel amenities include a 24/7 business center, indoor/outdoor pool and fitness center, as well as 5,800 square feet of function space.

About Interstate | As of December 31, Interstate Hotels & Resorts operated 223 hospitality properties with more than 50,000 rooms in 39 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and Russia. BridgeStreet Worldwide, an Interstate Hotels & Resorts subsidiary, is one of the world's largest corporate housing providers. BridgeStreet and its network of Global Partners offer approximately 10,000 corporate apartments located in more than 100 MSAs throughout the United States and internationally. For more information about Interstate Hotels & Resorts, visit the company's Web site: /.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, about Interstate Hotels & Resorts, including those statements regarding future operating results and the timing and composition of revenues, among others, and statements containing words such as "expects," "believes" or "will," which indicate that those statements are forward-looking. Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially, including the volatility of the national economy, economic conditions generally and the hotel and real estate markets specifically, the war in Iraq, international and geopolitical difficulties or health concerns, governmental actions, legislative and regulatory changes, availability of debt and equity capital, interest rates, competition, weather conditions or natural disasters, supply and demand for lodging facilities in our current and proposed market areas, and the company's ability to manage integration and growth. Additional risks are discussed in Interstate Hotels & Resorts' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Interstate Hotels & Resorts' annual report on Form 10-K as amended for the year ended December 31, 2005.