HAMILTON, Bermuda, June 23, 1998 -  Sea Containers Ltd. (NYSE: SCRA), marine container lessor, passenger transport and hotels operator, announced today that its wholly owned Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. subsidiary had acquired the Hotel Quinta do Lago, near Faro, on Portugal's Algarve Coast.

The hotel was opened in 1988, having been built under Orient-Express's supervision and Orient-Express has managed it since then. It has 141 rooms set within an exclusive 2,000 acre estate bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the wildlife sanctuary of the Ria Formosa estuary. Within the estate and nearby are 10 golf courses, making the property one of the most popular golfing resorts in the world. The Algarve enjoys very mild winters so the resort is busy year round.

Orient-Express purchased the hotel for $27 million from Prince Khalid bin Fahd Al Faisal.

Simon Sherwood, Chief Executive of Sea Containers' Leisure Division, said the hotel has expansion potential and it was the company's intention to add rooms at an early date.

The Hotel Quinta do Lago is the company's second hotel in Portugal, the other being the famous Reid's Palace in Madeira. A program is now underway to upgrade Reid's and when that is completed, more rooms will be added there as well. The company is currently considering the purchase of a third hotel in Portugal.

Mr. Sherwood indicated that the company was considering the purchase of additional hotels in France and Italy as well. Real estate prices are quite reasonable in these countries and the company's existing properties there are enjoying excellent profits, so he feels the company should build on this success. The company owns the Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Villa San Michele in Florence, the Splendido and Splendido Mare in Portofino, all in Italy, and the Hôtel de la Cité in Carcassonne, France.

Sea Containers' Leisure Division reported operating profits of $46 million in 1997, up 54% from $30 million in 1996.