Marriott International representatives and New Orleans officials were on hand Friday to mark the official reopening of the JW Marriott Hotel New Orleans as the city took another step forward in its recovery from Hurricane Katrina. J.W. Marriott, Marriott´s chairman and CEO, and Stephen Perry, president and CEO of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, attended the opening ceremony.

Dreams Resorts & Spas, a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, has announced its arrival into Mexico´s hottest destination Playa Maroma, the ´in´ beach destination near Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The new Dreams Maroma Resort & Spa is scheduled to open autumn 2007 and will be designed by Dallas-based HKS, Inc., noted for its fame in designing Atlantis in the Bahamas and Las Ventanas al Pariso in Los Cabos.

Presidente Intercontinental Hotels and Resorts will open its ninth 5-star hotel in Mexico, the Presidente Intercontinental Villa Mercedes Merida, in Yucatan state capital Merida by December. The 150-room hotel will occupy a 19th-century mansion near boulevard Paseo de Montejo, the city´s historic quarter and the convention center. The property, currently operating as the Hotel Villa Mercedes, is undergoing $12 million in expansion and renovations.

A great value for divers, La Cabana All Suite Beach Resort & Casino in Aruba is offering extra savings on four- and eight-day dive vacations with the high-value Ultimate Dive package for the remainder of 2005. The four-day/three-night Ultimate Dive package includes: Spacious Grand Suite accommodations Five dives Tanks, weights and transportation to and from dive boats Choice of one-tank dives, two-tank dives, reef dives or wreck dives Hotel service charge and tax.

Sunscape Resorts & Spas has announced the reopening of its Sunscape Puerto Aventuras property in Mexico´s Mayan Riviera on October 16. The resort had been closed since July for US$3.5 million in property-wide improvements and is now opening its doors to guests with a promotional rate through December. Sunscape Puerto Aventuras´ renewal project included the rebuilding and refurnishing of 88 of its 305 rooms, the rest of which had recently been remodeled when the resort completed an extensive renovation in December.

Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts announced last week it will launch a new global brand advertising campaign starting on 26 September. Intercontinental´s new advertising campaign is the result of positioning work that has been ongoing since late 2004. The brand´s new tagline challenges its audience to answer the question, “Do you live an Intercontinental Life?”