Ramada International Hotels and Resorts is to open its third hotel in Italy, this time in Occhiobello which is 25 minutes from Bologna.

The Ramada Hotel, Occhiobello, will have 120 rooms and will cater to the business and tourist markets and will be a four star hotel, according to Italian hotel standards. It will have two meeting rooms, a banquet hall for social gatherings, a lounge and a restaurant which will serve the 'Ramada Morning Breakfast' which includes a hot selection of foods.

Bologna is famous for its arts and museums so Ramada is hoping to attract the leisure visitor as well as the business market.

Investment in the hotel has not been disclosed, but Ramada International is part of Marriott International which currently has 137 hotels in 20 countries and territories and in 2001 reported systemwide sales of $20 billion US dollars.