Hilton Garden Inn(R) Celebrates Grand Opening of First Hotel in UK

LONDON & BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Hilton Garden Inn, one of the fastest growing brands that is part
of the Hilton Family of Hotels, celebrated the grand opening of the
mid-priced brand's first location in England with the Hilton Garden
Inn Luton North.

Built as a striking V-shape building, the Hilton Garden Luton
North is located on Butterfield Business Park, a short distance from
both the Luton town centre and airport as well as a short distance to
many businesses and attractions in the area.

"We're delighted to open the Hilton Garden Inn Luton North as our
first hotel in the UK and introducing a new kind of lodging
option--featuring our signature key offerings including the Garden
Sleep System bed and complimentary Wi-Fi in guestrooms and public
space--to business and leisure travelers," said Adrian Kurre, Senior
Vice President - Brand Management, Hilton Garden Inn.

According to Simon Vincent, President for Hilton UK and Ireland,
"Hilton Garden Inn is a fresh and exciting brand which will inject new
life into the UK's mid market hotel sector. We aim to have 20 HGI
hotels across the UK and Ireland within the next five to ten years."

The Hilton Garden Inn Luton North features a complimentary 24-hour
business centre, Wi-Fi in guestrooms and public areas, a restaurant
offering cooked-to-order breakfast, bar with plasma screen television,
comfortable living room area, complimentary gym facility and the
24-hour Pavilion Pantry(R) shop offering a selection of snacks,
delicious ready made meals, beverages and sundries.

Guest room features at the hotel include the Garden Sleep
System(R) bed that allows guests to adjust the firmness of the bed,
ergonomic Mirra(R) chair by Herman Miller, oversized work desks, air
conditioning, LCD satellite television and a "hospitality centre"
featuring a mini refrigerator and kettle.

Meeting facilities at the hotel include a boardroom and ten
flexible meeting rooms that feature natural lighting and cater up to
100 delegates. The hotel also features complimentary on-site parking.

"The Hilton Garden Inn Luton North will be a welcome addition to
the growing area and our hotel team looks forward to showing guests
what makes Hilton Garden Inn such a popular choice for travelers in
other parts of the world," said hotel General Manager Ross Mounsey.

As part of the brand's entrance into the UK market, Hilton Garden
Inn will launch 'Gardens In Schools' by which Hilton Garden Inn hotels
opening in the UK and Ireland will be working with schools in their
community to plant flower and vegetable gardens to commemorate the
opening of a new Hilton Garden Inn in their area.

The programme will be similar to the community outreach program
the brand has established in North America with the National Gardening
Association (NGA). To help kick off the programme in Luton, the NGA
will be providing materials to help the hotel get started on the
planting project. The Hilton Garden Inn Luton North has selected to
work with the Lady Zia Werner School and will begin the garden project
with the students when the new school year commences.

The hotel was built by GB Building Solutions as part of a joint
venture with Oxford GB. The construction of the hotel was completed
within a year and was made possible by an off-site modular solution
that resulted in reduced build time, increased quality of the finished
product and room construction to be built under controlled factory
conditions.

To experience the new Hilton Garden Inn Luton North, guests can
enjoy rates starting at GBP 70 per room per night(a) when they book
the Hilton Garden Inn Bed and Breakfast package that includes fresh
cooked-to-order breakfast served daily in the hotel restaurant for up
to four people staying in the same room.

The Hilton Garden Inn Luton North is located at Butterfield,
Hitchin Road, Stopsley, Luton, United Kingdom LU2 8DD; phone 44 1582
435300; fax: 44 1582 435350. To find out more about the Hilton Garden
Inn Luton North or to make reservations, visit
www.hiltongardeninn.co.uk/lutonnorth or call the hotel directly.

The Hilton Garden Inn Luton North joins other Hilton Garden Inn
locations in Europe including the Hilton Garden Inn Stuttgart
NeckarPark in Germany, and three properties in Italy, including the
Hilton Garden Inn Florence Novoli, the Hilton Garden Inn Rome Airport
and the Hilton Garden Inn Matera.

The Hilton Garden Inn portfolio of hotels currently features more
than 380 properties representing over 50,000 rooms throughout North
America and Europe. For more information about Hilton Garden Inn
locations, please visit www.hgi.com or call 0800 804 8933 in the UK or
1-877-STAY-HGI in North America.

(a) Rates exclude taxes, gratuity and other incidental charges.
Blackout dates may apply. For more information on the Bed 'N Breakfast
package, visit hgi.com/bb.

About Hilton Garden Inn

Hilton Garden Inn is the award-winning, mid-priced brand that
continually strives to ensure today's busy travelers have everything
they need to be most productive on the road -- from complimentary
wired and Wi-Fi Internet access in all guestrooms and PrintSpots(TM)
mobile printing to the hotel's complimentary 24-hour business center
to one of the most comfortable beds you will ever experience with the
Garden Sleep System(R). So whether on the road for personal or
business reasons, Hilton Garden Inn offers the amenities and services
for travelers to sleep deep, stay fit, eat well and work smart while
away from home. To find out more about Hilton Garden Inn locations
throughout North America and Europe, visit www.hgi.com.

About Hilton Hotels Corporate (HHC)

Hilton UK & Ireland currently operates 77 hotels with over 16,600
bedrooms and 13,000 team members. For further information on Hilton UK
& Ireland properties, please visit www.hilton.com.

Media enquiries can be directed to the Press Office on +44 (0)
7856 8471 or by email to press.office@hilton.com.

Hilton Hotels Corporation is a leading global hospitality company,
with more than 3,000 hotels and 500,000 rooms in 74 countries and
territories, including 135,000 team members worldwide.

The company owns, manages or franchises a hotel portfolio of some
of the best known and highly regarded brands, including Hilton(R),
Conrad(R) Hotels & Resorts, Doubletree(R), Embassy Suites Hotels(R),
Hampton Inn(R), Hampton Inn & Suites(R), Hilton Garden Inn(R), Hilton
Grand Vacations(TM), Homewood Suites by Hilton(R) and The
Waldorf=Astoria Collection(R).

The Hilton Family of Hotels adheres to founder Conrad Hilton's
philosophy that, "It has been, and continues to be, our responsibility
to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality." The
company put a name to its unique brand of service that has made it the
best known and most highly regarded hotel company: be hospitable(R).
The philosophy is shared by all brands in the Hilton Family of Hotels,
and is the inspiration for its overarching message of kindness and
generosity.

For more information about our company, please visit
www.hiltonworldwide.com, and to learn more about our be hospitable
philosophy, please visit www.behospitable.com.

Hilton UK & Ireland
Katrina Jones
++44(0)7966 894287
katrina.jones@hilton.com
or
Hilton Garden Inn Brand Communications
Agnes Sibal
+1-310-205-3392
agnes.sibal@hilton.com
http://www.HGI.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008