 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Renovation and Conversion to Hilton Brand |
.
 SEATTLE
- June 16, 2005 -- The Dow Hotel Company, LLC (DHC), a hotel ownership
investment and management company, today announced that it has purchased
the Seattle-area Doubletree Hotel Bellevue from Hilton Hotels Corporation
(NYSE:HLT) in a joint venture with investors advised by Prudential Real
Estate Investors for approximately $48.5 million. The Dow Hotel Company
will manage the hotel under a long-term management agreement in addition
to its ownership stake. The hotel will be substantially renovated and is
expected to be converted to a Hilton franchise in the near term.
"We have been aggressively expanding on the West Coast -- yet we did not have a property in our hometown," said Murray L. Dow II, founder and president of The Dow Hotel Company, a Seattle-based hotel ownership and management company. "This is our fifth hotel on the West Coast. We believe that when the planned renovation is completed, the hotel will substantially raise the bar on luxury hotel accommodations in Bellevue. The hotel is a great fit for our company, with extensive food & beverage operations, a great location and tremendous potential," Dow continued. "We are truly delighted to have completed this transaction with The Dow Hotel Company and are pleased that this fine hotel will remain part of the Hilton Family," said Robert M. LaForgia, senior vice president and chief financial officer, Hilton Hotels Corporation. The Dow Hotel Company, headquartered in Seattle, is a hotel owner/investor and operator of eleven first-class, full-service hotels with properties throughout the United States. The company's portfolio of owned and managed properties is comprised of institutional grade hotels, under such brands as Marriott, Hilton, Embassy Suites, Sheraton, Crowne Plaza, and Doubletree. The addition of the Bellevue hotel is the fourth recent addition to the company's ongoing West Coast expansion plan, which began with the acquisition of The Crowne Plaza Portland in Oregon and management of the 565-room Hilton San Francisco Financial District in downtown San Francisco, currently under major renovation. The company aggressively seeks to acquire, and/or manage mid- to large-size, institutional-grade, full-service hotels, especially those that have extensive food and beverage capabilities. Hilton Hotels Corporation is recognized internationally as a preeminent
hospitality company. The company develops, owns, manages or franchises
approximately 2,300 hotels, resorts and vacation ownership properties.
Its portfolio includes many of the world's best known and most highly regarded
hotel brands, including Hilton(R), Conrad(R), Doubletree(R), Embassy Suites
Hotels(R), Hampton Inn(R), Hampton Inn & Suites(R), Hilton Garden Inn(R),
Hilton Grand Vacations Company(R) and Homewood Suites by Hilton(R).
|
| Contact:
Scott Smith MAI
|