Australian accommodation franchisor, Flag Choice Hotels - which has more than 330 sites in Australasia and Oceania - has added Quality Resort McCracken to the group, a brand new $8m resort in Victor Harbour, South Australia.

The 4-star resort, overlooking a newly refurbished championship golf course, offers 40 suites with a variety of kitchenette, balcony and executive room options.

Recreational facilities include a health club with indoor lap pool, spa, sauna, fully-equipped gym and tennis courts.

Dining options feature Nicholas Baudin's Restaurant, Furphy's cocktail lounge and the Clubhouse bistro.

The resort also contains the Clubhouse Gaming room.

The Fleurieu Peninsula already receives 635,000 visitors each year and Quality Resort McCracken aims to increase this figure. Properties general manager, Craig Lunn, said: We envisage couples or families spending a night or two at the resort and combining a game of golf with a wine tour or whale watching.

• It was announced earlier this month that Choice Hotels International has acquired from Flag International the remaining 45 per cent interest in Flag Choice Hotels that it needs to bring its ownership of its Australian subsidiary to 100 per cent.

Elsewhere, Choice Hotels Europe has opened two new properties in Budapest and one in Graz, Austria.

Central Europe is new territory for the group, which acquired new properties in Spain, Portugal and France during 2002 and now runs over 500 hotels across Europe and Scandinavia.

The 81-room Comfort Hotel Berlin is 5km from Budapest's city centre and offers conference facilities and a restaurant. The 90-room Comfort Hotel Frankfurt, 12km from the city centre, has a large restaurant and three conference rooms.

In Graz, Choice's first Austrian site is the 50-room Comfort Hotel Drei Raben Graz, 10 minutes from the city centre. Details: www.flagchoice.com and www.choicehotelseurope.com