Crowne Plaza

Crowne Plaza is a chain of full service, upscale hotels catering to business travelers and to the meetings and conventions market. It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands, which include InterContinental and Holiday Inn and operates in 52 countries, usually located in city centers, resorts, or near major airports. 
Originally branded as "Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza", the first United States Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Hotel was opened in Rockville, Maryland, in 1983. Within a couple of years the brand was spun off as an independent chain (still owned at the time by Holiday Inn). The first Crowne Plaza Resort opened in Madeira, Portugal in 1999. Crowne Plaza once owned the Isle of Capri Casino resort chain.
Today, the brand represents over 400 hotels globally in 52 countries with 102,667 bedrooms (as of March 2010) and an expanding 129 hotels in the pipeline. In 1990, the InterContinental Hotels Group purchased the Holiday Inn family; today its portfolio includes the luxury brand InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, the upscale boutique brand Hotel Indigo, the upscale extended stay brand Staybridge Suites, the midscale extended stay brand Candlewood Suites, and the midscale, full service brand Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts and the midscale limited service brand Holiday Inn Express. 
In July 2009, Crowne Plaza was recognized by Lodging Hospitality magazine as one of the industry's top growing brands.
==Notable properties==
*The Crowne Plaza Liverpool John Lennon Airport is the former terminal building of Liverpool Speke Airport, constructed in the 1930s and used until 1986. Its notable art deco features led to its listing as a heritage building, and subsequent adaption as a hotel.
*The Crowne Plaza Denver Airport Hotel has more meeting space on site than any other Crowne Plaza in the World
*The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers is the first hotel in Denmark to generate all of its power from renewable sources, including solar panels and geothermal heating and cooling pumps. Also, its stationary bicycles are hooked up to generators, which provide electricity to the hotel.
==Sponsorship==
Crowne Plaza is the title sponsor of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial - a PGA Tour golf tournament held annually in Fort Worth, Texas.
Crowne Plaza is the sponsor of FIA World Touring Car Championship driver Andy Priaulx, a multiple touring car champion.
==External links==
*Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts
*Crowne Plaza worldwide location list
==Gallery==
File:Crowne Plaza Hotel Times Square 20100618.JPG|New York City, New York, USA 
File:Crowne Plaza Hotel Ottawa.jpg|Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Image:Monumento La Madre Royal Crowne Plaza.jpg|Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
File:Crowne Plaza Kansas City MO.jpg|Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Image:Crowne Plaza İzmir.jpg|İzmir, Turkey
File:Dejvice - Hotel Crowne Plaza Prague.jpg|Prague, Czech Republic
File:Crowne Plaza Chateau Lacombe Edmonton.jpg|Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
File:CrownePlazaTorreon.JPG|Torreón, Mexico
Category:Hotel chains
Category:Intercontinental Hotels Group brands
Category:Companies established in 1983
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