Indigo London Paddington Opens

IHG Converts Nine Georgian Townhouses into Hotel Indigo London Paddington

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. January 20, 2009

SINGAPORE, 20 January 2009 - IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) opened the doors of Hotel Indigo London Paddington today - the first Hotel Indigo outside North America - and announced a deal to open three more Hotel Indigo properties in the city.

Hotel Indigo is IHG's boutique hotel brand. With 21 hotels open in North America, and 56 hotels in the global development pipeline, the opening of the Hotel Indigo London Paddington marks the start of the global brand roll-out. The 64-room Hotel Indigo London Paddington, owned by London Town Hotels, is a row of nine converted Georgian townhouses in London Street just minutes from the station with views over Norfolk Gardens.

Speaking at the opening Andy Cosslett, chief executive, IHG, said: "Hotel Indigo combines the feel of a boutique hotel with the benefits of a large hotel group, including our reservation systems and loyalty programme. The brand has been a success in the Americas and we are confident we can grow it around the world. Hotel Indigo suits converting existing buildings as each hotel is designed to be different. Conversions generally require less financing and can be up and running more quickly than new build hotels, which is an attractive option for owners given the current economic conditions."

Koolesh Shah, managing director, London Town Hotels, said: "Over the last few years new businesses have put down roots in Paddington and we've seen a surge in the number of people looking for a place to stay. Our hotel will attract a new type of guest who is looking for something a little bit different."

IHG also announced that it has signed a contract with City Site Estates to open three more Hotel Indigo properties in London by 2012:

---|- Cannon Street - A 38 room, five storey townhouse with a 70 square metre roof garden, a gym and a restaurant.

---|- Philpot Lane - A 43 room, five floor conversion with a street front restaurant, bar and gym.

---|- Kensington Church Street - A 51 room, four storey conversion with a restaurant and gym.

Jim McCain, group property director, City Site Estates, said: "There's a gap in the market for a boutique hotel for business and leisure travellers who want to stay in the heart of the City. We plan to have all three Hotel Indigo hotels open and ready for business by 2012."

Hotel Indigo appeals to both business and leisure travellers who want to stay in a contemporary, unpretentious boutique hotel. Hotel Indigo properties are best suited to capital cities and cultural centres, they tend to be small and have a strong focus on delivering personalised customer service.

London Town Hotels Limited is one of London's fastest developing hotel groups. Starting from one hotel in West London, London Town Hotels has already grown to a group of hotels spanning central London from Paddington, through Hyde Park, Notting Hill and Kensington flying the flags of Choice Hotels - one of the largest worldwide hotel chains.

Starting out with Comfort Inn Bayswater in 1998, London Town Hotels acquired The London-London Hotel and re-named it Quality Hotel Hyde Park the same year. The addition of the company's Hillgate Hotel to the Choice Hotels stable as Comfort Inn Notting Hill followed swiftly afterwards. After this came the acquisition of the Elizabetta Hotel in Kensington, which was closed and refurbished to become Country Inn & Suites Kensington and the 300th Country Inn & Suites hotel worldwide - part of the Radisson and Regent International family.

In August 2004, London Town Hotels acquired the 95-room London Crown Hotel adjacent to Paddington Station. The hotel is exceptionally well located but was in need of significant change. It was closed in October 2004 and re-opened the following July after a lb3.5 million refurbishment that transformed it into the 4 star Quality Crown Hotel Paddington, which is a very popular choice amongst major companies worldwide - such as Prudential Plc, Santander, Marks & Spencer Plc, Cerner Corporation and many more. Quality Crown Hotels was born.

During 2006, London Town Hotels further improved Quality Hotel Hyde Park to secure an AA 4 star rating and changed the name to Quality Crown Hotel Hyde Park. This hotel retains much of its very appealing classical English style whilst offering the addition of many modern contemporary amenities expected by today's business and leisure guests, including WiFi and cable high speed Internet and On Demand Movies and Music.

At the same time, during 2006, Country Inn & Suites Kensington in August was complete refurbished again to the standards of Quality Crown Hotels in central London and in an appealing contemporary style to achieve a 4 star rating and the hotel was re-launched as Quality Crown Hotel Kensington in August 2006.

In October 2007, the first step was made outside central London with the acquisition of Comfort Hotel Nottingham - a modern hotel in the heart of central Nottingham and a short walk from the National Arena and National Ice Centre as well as the famous Lace Market. Originally a coaching inn, this was Nottingham's first hotel and its guests include a number of names from history - Charles Dickens was a regular guest here.

London Town Hotel's next chic, contemporary hotel - an exciting boutique Hotel Indigo London Paddington is now open The Paddington Park will offer superb standards of contemporary design and close personal service in one of London's most convenient locations.