April 10, 2003

More Than 50,000 Guests Welcomed at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center™

THE WOODLANDS, TX – (April 10, 2003) - During its first quarter open for business, The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center™ has welcomed more than 50,000 guests, including hotel guests, convention attendees and visitors, according to Steve Cunningham, general manager. The 12-story, 345-room, full-service hotel and adjacent convention center features a forested setting on The Woodlands Waterway® at its intersection with Six Pines Drive.

The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center officially opened in mid-December and has already hosted an impressive number of major events and conventions such as the Houston Safari Club’s Annual Worldwide Hunting Exposition and Shell National Wholesalers. The Marriott has also been the location of several large consumer exhibitions, including the South Montgomery County Chamber’s Annual “Taste of the Town” and 2003 Business Expo. This month, the First Annual Spring Home & Garden Show and the Friendship Center’s annual Antique Show and Sale will be held at the facility.

The hotel is owned by The Woodlands Operating Company, L.P., and according to vice president of hospitality Bob Nelson, one of the most outstanding aspects of the hotel is its design.

“The sheer continuity of space, from stunning guest rooms to the soaring lobby, signature restaurant, and dramatic meeting venues, is unlike any other hotel in Texas,” Nelson said. “Combine the dazzling architecture of the building with the hotel’s wonderfully attentive service and the spectacular location on The Woodlands Waterway®, and you have a very special destination.”

The convention center houses 70,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space, including a 37,180-square-foot exhibit hall, 18,000-square-foot ballroom on the second level, a 4,050-square-foot junior ballroom, and other meeting space totaling 7,550 square feet/ A 300-space parking garage serves the hotel and a 1,000-space garage serves the convention center, and is shared with The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, connected by a skybridge. The Woodlands, a 27,000-acre master planned community 27 miles north of downtown Houston, is a project of The Woodlands Operating Company, L.P., a Crescent Real Estate Equities and Morgan Stanley limited partnership.