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Lake Buena Vista Resort in Orlando, Fla., From Strategic Hotel Capital for $56 million |
 NORWALK,
Conn., November 1, 2005� HEI Hospitality, a rapidly growing hotel ownership
and operating company, today announced that it has acquired the 333-suite
Embassy Suites Orlando�Lake Buena Vista Resort in Orlando, Fla., from Strategic
Hotel Capital (NYSE: SLH) for $56 million. HEI expects to invest
approximately $6 million to renovate the guest rooms and public areas over
the next two years. Merritt Hospitality, a wholly owned subsidiary
of HEI, will operate the hotel.
�The Orlando market has recovered well since the hurricanes of a year ago, and the city remains the nation�s number one tourist destination, drawing in excess of 43 million visitors last year,� said Steve Mendell, executive vice president�acquisitions and development. �The all-suite Embassy brand, with its spacious two-room accommodations, is by far the most ideally suited product for the Orlando market.� The Embassy Suites Orlando�Lake Buena Vista Resort hotel is located at 8100 Lake Avenue, less than one mile from the entrance to the Walt Disney World Resort, Downtown Disney and Disney's Pleasure Island and only minutes from Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, MGM Studios, Epcot Center and Animal Kingdom theme parks. The full-service, upscale, all-suite resort is just a short drive from SeaWorld Orlando Adventure Park & Discovery Cove, Universal Studios Orlando, Universal's Islands of Adventure Theme Park & CityWalk, Premium Outlet Mall, the Orlando I-Drive area and the Orlando Orange County Convention Center. The Orlando International Airport is located 17 miles away. The Embassy Suites Orlando�Lake Buena Vista Resort hotel is an official Walt Disney Good Neighbor Hotel with complimentary scheduled transportation to all four Walt Disney World theme parks. Guests stay in spacious two-room suites and receive a complimentary, cooked-to-order breakfast and a nightly manager's reception. Each suite features a private bedroom and living room, two televisions, a refrigerator, microwave oven, and wireless, high-speed Internet access throughout the hotel. In addition to national and international tourists, the hotel will target the group market segment with its more than 5,600 square feet of meeting space in six rooms and a nearly 3,100 square-foot ballroom with 14-foot ceilings. The hotel also features an indoor and outdoor swimming pool and tennis courts. �We have acquired four hotels in 2005 and continue to have a healthy appetite for upscale properties in markets with high barriers to new competition,� said Roger Clark, senior vice president�acquisitions and development. �We seek stabilized and turn-around hotels or portfolios of first class, full-service hotels and resorts with 200 to 500 rooms. This is our fifth acquisition in Florida, and we continue to seek properties here and in the other top MSAs around the country.� HEI Hospitality, headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., is an ownership/investment firm that owns and/or operates 26 first-class and full-service hotels throughout the United States under such well-known brand names as Marriott, Sheraton, Westin and Hilton. Merritt Hospitality is an independent hotel management company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of HEI Hospitality. |
| Contact:
Gary Mendell
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