Melco Crown Entertainment's Altira Macau and Crown Towers Again Named Five-Star Hotels by Forbes Travel Guide

MACAU, Jan. 22, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Melco Crown Entertainment Limited (SEHK:6883) (Nasdaq:MPEL) ("Melco Crown Entertainment" or the "Company"), a developer and owner of casino gaming and entertainment resort facilities in Asia, today announced that two of its luxurious hospitality establishments, Altira Macau and City of Dreams' Crown Towers, have been awarded the coveted Forbes Five-Star Hotel Awards by the 56th Annual Forbes Travel Guide. For the fifth consecutive year, Altira Macau garnered the highest rating in both the Hotel and Spa categories, as well as the added honor of a Five-Star rating for Aurora, the hotel's Italian restaurant. Crown Towers, the first hotel in the Cotai Macau to receive the prestigious Forbes Travel award last year, was bestowed with Five-Stars for all of its facilities, including the hotel, spa and restaurants -- it is the first and currently the only hotel in Macau with complete Five-Star achievement throughout all of its venues.

Held on January 22, 2014 in Las Vegas, the Forbes Travel Guide's 56th annual star awards recognize the world's best hotels, restaurants and spas. For more than 55 years, the Guide provides savvy and affluent globetrotter with reviews of the most exceptional places to stay, dine and relax. This year, Altira Macau and City of Dreams' Crown Towers are two of the seven hotels to receive Five-Stars in Macau, as well as two of only 13 hotels worldwide with Five-Star recognition for the hotel, restaurant and spa within one property. There are 97 Five-Star hotels on this year's list of top hotels worldwide.

"We are thrilled to receive the prestigious Five-Star designation for both Altira Macau and City of Dreams' Crown Towers once again," said Mr. Lawrence Ho, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Melco Crown Entertainment. "These awards reflect the exceptional commitment at the core of both properties, where every guest is immersed in a world of compelling hospitality experiences."

Approaching its seventh anniversary, Altira Macau has been a favorite among tourists and locals alike, known for its meticulous service, exquisite cuisine and luxurious surroundings. For the past four years, the hotel has enjoyed the highest rating in the Forbes Travel Guide's Hotel and Spa categories. This year, Altira Macau's Aurora Restaurant joins the top rank in the Restaurant category.

City of Dreams' Crown Towers, an oasis of opulence in Cotai, received accolades from Forbes for the second time. This year, however, Crown Towers proudly basks in the success of having its hotel, spa and restaurants, including Jade Dragon and The Tasting Room, all bear Five-Stars, a truly exceptional honor in the highly competitive global hospitality industry.

Aurora, Jade Dragon and The Tasting Room represent three of the five restaurants to receive Five-Stars in Macau; there are 48 Five-Star restaurants worldwide. In addition, the Altira Spa and Crown Spa are two of six spas to receive Five-Star status in Macau; there are 41 Five-Star spas around the world.

"This comprehensive recognition of excellence reflects Melco Crown Entertainment's in-depth understanding of Asia's hospitality landscape," remarked Mr. Lawrence Ho. "We are constantly adapting to the demands of discerning travelers, as well as enhancing the destination with our commitment to quality travel experiences in every aspect of a guest's stay."

Last year, Melco Crown Entertainment earned multiple industry honors, including the Caridade Social 2013 award for its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Signature Program Series, as well as the Macau Business Award of the Year in the CSR category. Reflecting City of Dreams' culinary prowess, Singapore Tatler named Jade Dragon and The Tasting Room among its Regional Best Restaurants in 2014, while Altira Macau's Aurora, Kira and Tenmasa were included in the publication's regional best restaurants list. In addition, Jade Dragon and The Tasting Room ranked 6th and 7th respectively in the Top 20 list of the 2014 Hong Kong Tatler's Best Restaurants guide; Aurora, Kira, Tenmasa and Ying were also recommended in the exclusive listing. To top off these honors, Jade Dragon earned its first Michelin star in 2014. Along with The Tasting Room, with one Michelin star for the second consecutive year in 2014, City of Dreams boasts the most Michelin restaurants in Cotai this year.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. These factors include, but are not limited to, (i) growth of the gaming market and visitation in Macau and the Philippines, (ii) capital and credit market volatility, (iii) local and global economic conditions, (iv) our anticipated growth strategies, and (v) our future business development, results of operations and financial condition. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "target", "aim", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "believe", "potential", "continue", "is/are likely to" or other similar expressions. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

About Melco Crown Entertainment Limited

Melco Crown Entertainment, with its shares listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the "Hong Kong Stock Exchange") (SEHK:6883) and its American depositary shares listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (Nasdaq:MPEL), is a developer and owner of casino gaming and entertainment casino resort facilities in Asia. Melco Crown Entertainment, currently operates Altira Macau (www.altiramacau.com), a casino hotel located at Taipa, Macau and City of Dreams (www.cityofdreamsmacau.com), an integrated urban casino resort located in Cotai, Macau. Melco Crown Entertainment's business also includes the Mocha Clubs (www.mochaclubs.com), which comprise the largest non-casino based operations of electronic gaming machines in Macau. The Company is also developing the planned Studio City Project, a cinematically-themed integrated entertainment, retail and gaming resort in Cotai, Macau. In the Philippines, Melco Crown (Philippines) Resorts Corporation's subsidiary, MCE Leisure (Philippines) Corporation, has been cooperating with SM Group's Belle Corporation to develop and operate City of Dreams Manila, a casino, hotel, retail and entertainment integrated resort in the Entertainment City complex in Manila. For more information about Melco Crown Entertainment, please visit www.melco-crown.com.

Melco Crown Entertainment has strong support from both of its major shareholders, Melco International Development Limited ("Melco") and Crown Resorts Limited ("Crown"). Melco is a listed company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is substantially owned and led by Mr. Lawrence Ho, who is Co-Chairman, an Executive Director and the CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment. Crown is a top-50 company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and led by Executive Chairman Mr. James Packer, who is also Co-Chairman and a Non-executive Director of Melco Crown Entertainment.