 NEW
YORK, Aug. 16, 2005 - Having finalized the acquisition of Wyndham International,
Inc., affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Advisors today announced the
formation of LXR Luxury Resorts, an extraordinary new collection of luxury
properties that will include some of the most treasured luxury hotels,
resorts, spas, golf clubs and marinas in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the
Caribbean. LXR Luxury Resorts will be comprised of 14 of Wyndham�s
premier owned and operated properties as well as seven hotels and resorts
from Blackstone�s Boca Hospitality Collection and Prime Hospitality holdings.
Among the prized hotels and resorts that will join the LXR Luxury Resorts
collection are the
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El Conquistador Resort and Las Casitas Village,
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El San Juan Hotel & Casino and
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Condado Plaza Hotel & Casino in Puerto Rico;
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The Boulders Resort in Carefree, Arizona;
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The Peaks in Telluride, Colorado;
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Bel Age in Los Angeles,
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Carmel Valley Ranch in Carmel, California;
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Rose Hall Resort & Country Club in Montego Bay, Jamaica;
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Park Shore Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii;
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The Reach Resort and Casa Marina Resort in Key West, and
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The Buena Vista Palace in Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista,
Florida.
The world-renowned Golden Door Spa brand will also become part of LXR,
including its flagship spa in Escondido, California, and its three spas
at the El Conquistador, The Boulders and The Peaks. Each of these
landmark properties will return to their original names.
The five properties of the Boca Hospitality Collection that will join
LXR Luxury Resorts effective immediately are
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Florida's famed Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton,
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Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Resort and Bahia Mar Beach Resort & Yachting
Center in Fort Lauderdale,
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The Registry Resort & Club and
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Edgewater Beach Hotel & Club in Naples, and
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the Rihga Royal in New York City.
Also featured in this collection will be premier golf clubs including the
renowned Naples Grand Golf Club in Naples and Grand Oaks Golf Club in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, and marinas in Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale.
The Saratoga resort in Saratoga Springs, New York, will also join LXR from
Blackstone's Prime Hospitality group.
Commented Bill Stein, Managing Director
of Blackstone's Real Estate Group, "The creation of LXR Luxury Resorts
provides a tremendous opportunity to take an incomparable collection of
prized properties, each of which has enormous potential, and turn them
into true luxury showpieces."
Blackstone Real Estate Advisors has a history of significantly reinvesting
in its assets and dramatically improving services and facilities. The same
is anticipated for LXR Luxury Resorts, with over $400 million anticipated
to be invested into these properties over the next several years to ensure
that they become or continue to be the finest resorts and hotels in the
luxury marketplace. Through its acquisition of London's Savoy Group
in the 1990s, Blackstone transformed some of the city's most loved yet
neglected hotels -- including Claridge's, The Savoy, The Berkeley, and
The Connaught -- into vibrant, thriving properties, commissioning a veritable
"who's who" of internationally acclaimed architects, interior designers,
chefs and restaurateurs to inject a new and exciting energy.
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Park Shore Waikiki
2586 Kalakaua Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii |
For the prized hotels and resorts that will comprise the LXR Luxury Resorts
collection, there will be an equally talented and accomplished roster of
creative and culinary talents to help reinvigorate, re-imagine, and reposition
each property, evoking its own unique personality and locale. Among the
architects and designers already secured include the veritable "dream team"
of Thierry Despont, Alexandra Champalimaud, Tony Chi, Andree Putman and
Bentel & Bentel, who are each lending their design mastery to the recreation
of the legendary Boca Raton Resort & Club, much of which will be completed
by Summer 2006. On the culinary front, some of America's and Europe's
finest chefs and restaurateurs will be opening outposts in LXR properties
in the coming six to eighteen months, details of which will be announced
soon.
The seasoned management team of LXR will include co-Presidents Joseph
Berger and Jean-Jacques Pergant and President of Sales and Marketing John
Tolbert, all of whom had been previously with Boca Hospitality Collection.
"We are incredibly excited at the opportunity to assemble such a unique
and stellar collection of properties under the LXR name," commented Mr.
Tolbert. "And with the help of the world's top creative talents,
we will ensure that we offer an extraordinary guest experience that offers
unparalleled style as well as substance. The concept of luxury today
is not only about the finest quality and most exquisite surroundings, but
also the true pleasures of personalized yet unobtrusive service, absolute
comfort and unforgettable moments."
The goal of the aggressive capital investments in each property within
LXR will be to help realize the true potential and convey the innate personality
of each, including a strong sense of place, an across-the-board upgrade
in services and amenities, and, in many cases, a return to the particular
property's original "DNA," albeit reinterpreted for the 21st century traveler.
"We aim to respect the integrity and unique offerings that each of these
trophy assets has to offer," commented Mr. Tolbert, "and will strive to
heighten the distinct personality of each while offering our guests an
unfailing commitment to excellence and a consistent, highly personalized
standard of service throughout each property."
The new LXR group will benefit from an incredible synergy among its
properties, including a streamlined management infrastructure and a dedicated
sales and marketing team intensely focused on the luxury business and leisure
market, in addition to the meetings and incentive industries.
About Blackstone
The Blackstone Group, a private investment firm with offices in New
York, Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, London, Hamburg, Paris and Mumbai,
was founded in 1985. Blackstone's Real Estate Group has raised five
funds, representing over $6 billion in total equity, and has a long track
record of investing in hotels and other commercial properties. In
addition to Real Estate, The Blackstone Group's core businesses include
Private Equity, Corporate Debt Investing, Marketable Alternative Asset
Management, Corporate Advisory and
Restructuring and Reorganization Advisory. The Blackstone Group
can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.Blackstone.com.
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