The Crowne Plaza Little Rock has received the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2008 Priority Club Rewards® Award based on overall guest satisfaction.  Selection for the honor was obtained from Guest View surveys and by providing outstanding experiences for Priority Club Rewards® members during stays at their hotel.  Based on number of rooms, IHG is the world’s largest hotel group.

            “We’re honored to receive this recognition and to be ranked among the top hotels in the world,” said Blair Allen, partner of Goff & Associates.  “To have our guests select us as one of the best Crowne Plaza’s in the United States is a testament of the commitment we have to providing a comfortable, quality experience with a good night’s rest.  We thank those we serve for selecting Crowne Plaza Little Rock as their place to meet and stay.” 

            As one of 16 hotels selected for the award, The Crowne Plaza Little Rock had to meet the highest IHG standards of quality and customer service.  Originally founded as a Holiday Inn in 1986, the hotel was a major part of the community’s expansion westward.  It was one of the first major guest properties located west of Interstate 430.

            “There wasn’t a whole lot beyond Shackelford back then, but the area had a lot of potential for expansion.  In the 1990’s, west Little Rock began to thrive as a family-friendly environment with shopping centers and restaurants, a trend that continues even today,” said Allen.

            In 1996 the hotel was upgraded to a Holiday Inn Select (commonly known as a Holidome.)  In 2007, the hotel underwent a $12 million renovation to accommodate Little Rock’s growing demand for convention and meeting space and took on the new brand of Crowne Plaza.  Included in the renovations were 7,600 sq. ft of meeting space with LCD monitors and projection screens, a 400-person ballroom and a complete lobby and room redesign featuring modern architecture and appeal.  The hotel’s new look and accommodations helped it earn IHG’s 2008 Renovation Award for having successfully completed major modernization and renovation programs during the past year. 

            For more information about Crowne Plaza Little Rock or to schedule an event or meeting at the top-rated facility, contact Beth Boyd, Director of Sales and Marketing, at 501-223-3000, beth.boyd@lrar.com or visit http://crowneplazalittlerock.com.

Crowne Plaza Little Rock, the “Place to Meet”

            The Crowne Plaza Little Rock offers 11 meeting rooms for a total of 7,600 square feet. The meeting facilities can accommodate those needing a small meeting room to those looking to host a large function.  The Crowne Plaza Little Rock works with each guest to ensure the success of all meetings and conventions. Crowne Plaza Little Rock’s Meetings Director - the single point of contact before, during and after a meeting – helps guests plan and organize each function from first phone call to check out, reducing

the stress brought about by event planning. Crowne Plaza also meets with planners each morning for a daily debrief of all expenditures, making it easier to manage the budget.

            The Crowne Plaza Little Rock Hotel offers 244 upscale guest rooms, including 11 suites and a Club Floor. The first-class and smoke-free facility includes a new coffee bar-Latte Da, a contemporary restaurant-Café 201 and an atrium bar-Rocks featuring the nightly local entertainment of Mark David. The Crowne Plaza Little Rock offers 32" flat screen televisions with high definition in all rooms, 24-hour concierge service, same-day valet dry-cleaning, complimentary parking, free high-speed wireless internet, a new exercise room and an indoor/outdoor heated pool. 

About the InterContinental Hotels Group

            InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms.  IHG owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, over 4,000 hotels and more than 590,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world.  The Group owns a portfolio of well recognized and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites® and Hotel Indigo®, and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club® Rewards with over 39 million members worldwide.                                                                                                                 

            IHG has more than 1,700 hotels in its development pipeline, which will create 150,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.

            InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

            IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at www.ihg.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards program at www.priorityclub.com. For the latest news from IHG, visit the online Press Office at www.ihg.com/media.