what chain does crowne plaza belong to
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 392 hotels globally in 52 countries with 108,307 rooms (as of March 2013) and an expanding 98 hotels in the pipeline.