UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOTELS

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ESCAPE TO OPEN ON-SITE HOTELS

Portofino Bay Hotel and Hard Rock Hotel First of Five at Universal Studios Escape in Orlando.

For the first time since opening in 1990, Universal Studios will have on-site hotels, creating the complete destination resort known as Universal Studios Escape.

World-class hospitality meets world-class entertainment when Universal Studios Escape opens three Loews Hotels within the next three years. When complete, a total of five hotels will be part of the entertainment resort complex.

Opening in the summer of 1999, the Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Studios Escape, a Loews Hotel, will be the first on-site hotel. Featuring 750 elegantly appointed rooms, the Portofino Bay Hotel will recreate the charm, warmth and romantic harbor setting of the Mediterranean seaside village of Portofino.

The only hotel in Orlando to provide full butler service, the Portofino will offer 42,000 square feet of meeting space, with a 15,000 square-foot Grand Ballroom and a 7,500 square-foot Junior Ballroom Other features include eight restaurants and lounges, a 10,600 square-foot health spa, two swimming pools, two bocci ball courts and a full-service business center.

Guests will find an equally distinctive and inviting atmosphere at the Hard Rock Hotel, also a Loews Hotel, scheduled to open in 2000 at Universal Studios Escape. This hotel will showcase the unique architectural styles of a California mission, with public areas decorated with pieces from the Hard Rock's extensive collection of rock 'n roll memorabilia.

The world-famous Hard Rock Cafe's themes of "Love All Serve All," "All is One" and "Save the Planet" are echoed throughout the Hard Rock Hotels. Orlando's Hard Rock Hotel will feature 650 guest rooms, suites and bungalows, a lobby lounge, indoor bar, pool bar, pool snack bar, two restaurants, fitness center and business center, all on a 14-acre site, providing guests with an understated, comfortable, casually elegant atmosphere as relaxing as it is fun.

"The Hard Rock Hotel will join the Portofino Bay Hotel in giving Universal Studios Escape world-class resorts with elegance and unique style," said Cathy Nichols, chairman and chief executive officer, Universal Studios Recreation Group. "Our growth into a world-class resort destination relies on world-class hotels and world-class partners. We are delighted to have both."

The hotels at Universal Studios Escape will be connected to each other and to the theme parks, Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, and the Universal Studios CityWalk entertainment complex, by a chain of scenic waterways. Guests will be able to partake in traditional forms of transportation or opt for convenient water-taxis to and from their hotel.

In addition to enjoying luxurious accommodations, guests staying in hotels on Universal property will receive numerous additional benefits. These include early theme park admission to Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Islands of Adventure with VIP, no-waiting-in-line access to special attractions during the first hour that the parks are open to the public.

On-site hotel guests will also enjoy priority reservations to the popular character dining experiences right at their hotel, as well as first-available seating at all restaurants offering table service at Universal Studios Escape. And, for added convenience, special charging privileges for hotel guests are built into guests' hotel room keys, allowing them to purchase food, merchandise and entertainment offerings throughout Universal Studios Escape by using their electronic room key.

A third hotel, the Royal Pacific Resort, will open in 2001 at Universal Studios Escape. Two additional hotels will be completed within the following several years, making a total of 5,000 rooms available at this one-of-a-kind resort.

Universal Studios Escape (www.uescape.com) is a joint venture between Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com), a unit of The Seagram Company Ltd., a global entertainment and beverage company, and The Rank Group Pfc. Rank Group is a leader in leisure and entertainment and operates two business streams: it provides services to the film industry and entertains consumers directly through its portfolio of strong leisure and entertainment brands. Its famous brands include Hard Rock, Odeon, Butlin's and Mecca. In 1997, the group turnover was over £2bn and operating profit was £310m. Worldwide, Rank employs around 40,000 people.

The Universal Studios Escape vacation destination experience includes the existing Universal Studios Florida; the new Universal Studios Islands of Adventure; Universal Studios CityWalk, a 30-acre entertainment complex featuring themed restaurants, nightclubs, shops and a 20-screen, 5,000-seat movie megaplex; world-class hotel accommodations; and expanded film and television production facilities.

Loews Hotels currently owns and/or operates 15 hotels and resorts in the U.S. and Canada. As part of the largest expansion in the chain's 53-year history, the company debuted two new properties in Fall 1998: the 367-room House of Blues Hotel, a Loews Hotel, located in Chicago's Marina Complex in October, and the 800-room Loews Miami Beach Hotel in December. The company has four other projects under development: the conversion of the landmark PSFS building into the 585-room Loews Philadelphia Hotel (April 2000); and the first three on-site hotels at Universal Studios Escape in Orlando.

These include the 750-room Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Studios Escape, a Loews Hotel (September 1999); the 650-room Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Studios Escape (late 2000); and the 1,004-room Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Studios Escape, a Loews Hotel opening in Spring 2001.