PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain and MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Playa Hotels & Resorts, S.L., the company formed earlier this year by Grupo Barcelo in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, announced its acquisition of the 357 guestroom Barcelo Costa Cancun Hotel. This is the sixth hotel that Playa now owns in Mexico.

The Barcelo Costa Cancun is a Mediterranean style hotel complex on the sheltered bayside of the Caribbean overlooking Playa Linda. The upscale hotel is all-inclusive and offers fine dining in a selection of five restaurants. In addition, guests may enjoy house brand cocktails, water sports, an air conditioned fitness center, recreational activities, a children's program, and live entertainment each evening as part of their all-inclusive experience. Guests may also choose to add spa services to their stay for an additional fee at the hotel's spa facilities. The hotel's meeting facilities can accommodate groups of up to 150 people. Playa Hotels & Resorts plans additional upgrades and refurbishments to the hotel in the coming months.

"We are pleased to announce our purchase of this beautiful property in the heart of Cancun's thriving resort area," said Bruce Wardinski, Chairman & CEO of Playa Hotels & Resorts, S.L. "The Barcelo Costa Cancun fits our fund's criteria of acquiring or developing upscale resort properties throughout Mexico, Latin American and the Caribbean. It is a well-located hotel with excellent facilities, and under the Barcelo flag we know we will create a first class experience for guests to enjoy," added Wardinski.

The Barcelo Costa Cancun Hotel is located at Boulevard Kukulcan in the center of the hotel district. It is 20 minutes from Cancun International Airport and five minutes from downtown Cancun. For more information and reservations visit online at http://www.barcelo.com/ or call 1-800-BARCELO.

About the Companies Playa Hotels & Resorts, S.L.

Playa Hotels & Resorts, S.L., is a private equity fund that focuses on the acquisition and development of all-inclusive beachfront resorts in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. Playa is currently in active negotiations to acquire several additional hotels as well as land for the development of all- inclusive resorts in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Panama. Additional closings are anticipated by year's end. Playa has $1 billion in available capital and has raised more than $580 million in equity funding commitments from a small group of international institutional investors.

Playa Hotels & Resorts, S.L. is a Spanish company that seeks to create long-term shareholder value by acquiring, developing, or redeveloping all- inclusive resort assets in Mexico and other Latin American or Caribbean countries, including the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Panama. Including its acquisition of the Barcelo Costa Cancun Hotel, Playa Hotels & Resorts, S.L. currently owns six properties in Mexico. Additional information can be found on the Company's website at http://www.playahr.com/.

Barcelo Hotels & Resorts

Barcelo is one of the world's largest hospitality and travel management companies and is based in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The company, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is 100% owned by the Barcelo family and has been run by three generations of family members. Barcelo and its affiliates own, manage and lease more than 120 hotels in 16 countries across 4 continents. Additional information about Barcelo is available at the company's website: http://www.barcelo.com/.

Note: Certain matters discussed herein are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Certain, but not necessarily all, of such statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "estimates" or "anticipates" or the negative thereof or comparable terminology. All forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual transactions, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future transactions, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These may include: (i) national and local economic and business conditions or governmental regulations that will affect demand, prices, wages or other costs for hotels; (ii) the level of rates and occupancy that can be achieved by such properties; (iii) the Company's ability to compete.

CONTACT: James Carroll of Playa Hotels & Resorts, S.L., +1-571-382-1700,
jac@playahr.com

Web site: http://www.barcelo.com/
http://www.playahr.com/