The property was purchased for approximately $22 million from Duluth, Ga.-based Southern States Management Company.  HEI acquired the hotel in a joint venture with  Prudential Real Estate Investors (PREI), which has more than $11 billion of real estate assets worldwide. The hotel will undergo a $2 million renovation scheduled to begin by year end, focused on the meeting space and

Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs 350 South North Lake Blvd Altamonte Springs, Florida

�Strategically, the Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs is exactly the type of hotel we seek to acquire,� said Gary Mendell, principal of HEI Hospitality.  �It is an upscale property that will benefit from focused upgrades and enhanced management and marketing programs.  The hotel is located in a market with significant barriers to new competition that appeals to both business and leisure travelers and has earned some of the highest guest satisfaction scores in the Hilton system.  We intend to build on that guest good will.� 

�We are on our planned schedule to expand rapidly,� he said.  �With our first acquisition completed, we aggressively are seeking additional opportunities.  We currently are looking at 5 to 10 other potential transactions and have strong backing from our financial partners, including Prudential and others.�

James Sega has been named general manager of the hotel, according to David McCaslin, principal in HEI and president of Smilezzzz.  �Jim joins us from the Sheraton Fisherman�s Wharf in San Francisco, where he was general manager.  We also named Norman Justice as controller, formerly a regional controller for MeriStar Hotels & Resorts.  With these key personnel changes, the transition has gone very smoothly.  We expect the ownership change to be transparent to guests and employees, and the refurbishment program to cause very little, if any, disruption to guests.�

The 322-room Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs is located at the Altamonte Drive exit of Interstate 4.  Located in the center of Orlando�s primary commercial district with more than 12.8 million square feet of office space, the hotel is located near the 1.1-million square-foot Altamonte Mall, the area�s principal retail operation.

The hotel features Lofton�s, a 100-seat restaurant, and a lobby lounge. With nearly 16,000 square feet of meeting space, the property can comfortably handle functions from several people to groups of 600.  The hotel also has a swimming pool and a fitness center.

HEI Hospitality, headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut is an ownership/investment and hotel management group that owns and manages first-class and full-service hotels throughout the United States.