OCTOBER 9, 2008. IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG; NYSE: IHG (ADRs)], the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms today announced that The Generation Companies (“Generation”) will open the 200th Candlewood Suites hotel next month in Rocky Mount, N.C.

“This is a very important milestone for Candlewood Suites, and we’re pleased with the consistent growth we’ve seen since IHG acquired the brand in 2003,” said Robert Radomski, vice president, Brand Management, Extended-Stay Brands, IHG. “We plan to continue our robust expansion, with our pipeline currently standing at more than 200 hotels, more than any other brand in the midscale extended-stay segment,” he added.

Candlewood Suites was founded in 1995 by Jack DeBoer, regarded by the industry as a pioneer of the extended-stay segment. Within four months of acquiring the brand in December 2003, IHG reversed 24 months of RevPAR decline to what is now a more than a three-year streak of positive gains. The brand will open the hotel industry’s first midscale extended-stay hotel in New York City later this year.

In addition to being the 200th hotel, the Rocky Mount property features the brand’s new prototype design, offering a comfortable residential look and feel incorporating a new exterior design and paint scheme, an expanded lobby and environmentally-friendly amenities.

The hotel incorporates the new exterior prototype design with a straight, forward-facing rectangular building including a new entry way and roofline for curb appeal. In addition to the new building shape, the exterior color scheme features light khaki, olive green, tan and dark blue. The new hotel has an increased outdoor residential feel with a centrally located Gazebo Grill and additional "backyard" landscaping.

The interior of the Candlewood Suites Rocky Mount features an expanded lobby area accommodating multiple sitting areas with comfortable furniture and a 42-inch flat screen television that creates a living room-type gathering place for guests. The new lobby was designed to encourage more interaction among guests and between guests and hotel team members.

The Candlewood Suites Rocky Mount is also decreasing water and energy consumption through the use of environmentally-friendly amenities, including low-flow shower heads and toilets, Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs), increased natural light and sodium vapor fixtures.

“It is fitting that Generation not only open the 200th property, but also to be among the first Candlewood Suites to open with the new prototype design,” said H. Mark Daley III, President of The Generation Companies. “This opening is particularly meaningful to me as Rocky Mount, NC, is where I grew up. This market doesn’t have anything like a Candlewood Suites, and I know the community is going to love it.”

Guests at the Rocky Mount property can take advantage of the just-like-home amenities available at all Candlewood Suites hotels, including complimentary high-speed Internet access, free local phone calls, free on-site guest laundry and a 24-hour fitness center. Unique to Candlewood Suites, guests can also enjoy the convenience of the Candlewood Cupboard®, where a variety of beverages, breakfast items, snacks, frozen entrees and sundries can be purchased on the honor system at any time and where guests can enjoy complimentary Juan Valdez freshly brewed coffee. Additionally, guests of the Candlewood Suites can visit the free Lending Library, where movies and music are available for use in guestrooms, which all feature a DVD and CD player.

Candlewood Suites guestrooms feature studio or one-bedroom suite floor plans with a full kitchen, comfortable recliner, large workspace with comfortable desk chair and overhead lighting. Each of the hotel’s 83 guest suites features the brand’s new Comforts of Home™ Bedding Collection with upgraded mattresses and box spring sets, mattress topper, fluffy duvet inserts and poly-cotton covers matching the hotel’s color scheme, 250-thread count micro-check sateen sheets in “Candlelight”, triple sheeting, contemporary cotton estate blankets, choice of three upgraded pillow types in firm, medium and feather and a decorative “Consider Us Home” pillow.

The new property is located in the heart of Rocky Mount’s premier industrial areas close to Nash General Hospital, Gateway Convention Center, Abbot Laboratories, RBC Centura, Honeywell and Boddie-Noel Enterprises Stonewall Mansion and Rose Hill Plantation are also a short drive away from the hotel.

The Candlewood Suites Rocky Mount is owned by Generation Suites of Rocky Mount, LLC and managed by The Generation Companies, under a license agreement with a company in the InterContinental Hotels Group, and is located at 688 English Rd., Rocky Mount, N.C., 27804. Telephone: 252-467-2550; Facsimile: 252-467-2553. Generation is the largest owner/operator of the Candlewood Suites brand.