Hotels hope 'Diana' can draw crowds as exhibition hits Atlanta

(AFP PHOTO / JOHN D MCHUGH)

Two Ritz-Carlton hotels in Atlanta are to offer a "Diana" memorial package from January 23 to June 13, the hotel chain confirmed January 4.

The overnight packages coincide with the Atlanta leg of the Diana: A Celebration Tour, which sees the popular exhibition in memory of the Princess of Wales visiting the Atlanta Civic Centre. Diana: A Celebration features over 150 items on loan from Althorp Estate, Diana's family home, including the wedding gown, diamond tiara, veil and 25-foot train from her 1981 wedding to Prince Charles.

Guests at the the Ritz-Carlton Atlanta and the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead will be able to enjoy specially-created Diamond Tiara Cocktails in the hotel bars, whilst the package includes an audio tour narrated by Charles Spencer, Diana's brother, VIP tickets to the exhibition itself and one night in a deluxe suite, from $229 at the Downtown and $239 at the Buckhead.

Diana's name remains a big crowd puller for tourism around the world. The Diana: A Memorial exhibition has been visited by over a million people and has toured Japan, Canada and the United States as well as being displayed at the Althorp Estate in the UK. Previous exhibitions have enjoyed similar success, such as the two-year exhibition Diana, Fashion and Style, held in Diana's former London residence Kensington Palace, which showcases the Princess' iconic sense of style.

Approximately 230,000 tourists visit the palace every year and a £12m (€19.3 m) project to make the palace more accessible to tourists is expected to be complete by 2012.

Website: http://www.ritzcarlton.com/atlanta
Website: http://www.dianaexhibition.com
Website: http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace