Hilton Worldwide has acquired the Waldorf Astoria Orlando and Hilton
Orlando Bonnet Creek from a consortium including affiliates of
GEM Realty Capital, Farallon Capital Management and Blackstone. The
closing follows an announcement
last week that Hilton Worldwide signed agreements to acquire the two
hotels.
Opened in October 2009, the 498-room Waldorf Astoria Orlando and
1,000-room Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek together form a 482-acre resort
that is surrounded by a private nature preserve and is conveniently
located on three sides by Walt Disney World®. The resort features a
3-acre Florida-style lazy river pool, Rees Jones-designed championship
golf course, Waldorf Astoria Spa, fitness center and nearly a dozen
dining and lounge options, including the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek's
award-winning La Luce® and Waldorf Astoria Orlando's signature
restaurant, Bull and Bear®.
“These two properties are a great addition to our portfolio of owned
assets and a testament to the power of strong partnerships, teamwork,
vision and devotion,” said Christopher J. Nassetta, President and CEO,
Hilton Worldwide. “The previous ownership has played a pivotal role in
the success of the Waldorf Astoria Orlando and Hilton Orlando Bonnet
Creek, and we will continue to build on their legacy of providing guests
with outstanding experiences.”
“GEM has had a longstanding relationship with Hilton Worldwide through
both GEM Realty Securities and GEM Realty Properties,” said Norman
Geller, Senior Managing Partner of GEM Realty Capital. “Over more than a
decade, we have worked with Hilton Worldwide’s exceptional management
team, and we are thrilled that Hilton Worldwide will own and continue to
manage this world-class resort.”
The Waldorf Astoria Orlando and Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek have
achieved a number of firsts and extensive awards. The Waldorf Astoria
Orlando was the first newly built Waldorf Astoria property since the
original Waldorf was opened on the same day 82 years before. Since then,
the properties have received 62 “best” awards including Conde Nest
Traveler Gold List, Travel & Leisure World’s Best, US News & World
Report on Travel, Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence and Hilton’s
own Connie Award.
The property’s ownership entities have worked closely together and
focused on ensuring the hotel team had the tools they needed to maintain
the highest standards. “Built during difficult global economic times,
ownership persevered and continued the commitment to stay on course,
delivering on time and on budget,” said Peter Kacheris, managing
director of the resort. “They always responded to the ever-changing
needs of our customers by reinvesting into the property.”
“We are gratified by this result,” said Rocky Fried, Managing Member at
Farallon. “This is an excellent outcome for our investors, with credit
to our patient approach and collaborative work with our partners at GEM
and Blackstone as well as the management team at Hilton Worldwide.”
About Hilton Worldwide
Hilton Worldwide (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global hospitality company,
spanning the lodging sector from luxury and full-service hotels and
resorts to extended-stay suites and focused-service hotels. For 95
years, Hilton Worldwide has been dedicated to continuing its tradition
of providing exceptional guest experiences. The company's portfolio of
twelve world-class global brands is comprised of more than 4,300
managed, franchised, owned and leased hotels and timeshare properties,
with more than 715,000 rooms in 94 countries and territories, including
Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels
& Resorts, Canopy by Hilton, Curio - A Collection by Hilton, DoubleTree
by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels,
Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand
Vacations. The company also manages an award-winning customer loyalty
program, Hilton HHonors®. Visit news.hiltonworldwide.com
for more information and connect with Hilton Worldwide at http://www.facebook.com/hiltonworldwide,
www.twitter.com/hiltonworldwide,
www.youtube.com/hiltonworldwide,
http://www.flickr.com/hiltonworldwide,
and www.linkedin.com/company/hilton-worldwide.
About GEM Realty Capital
Founded in 1994, GEM Realty Capital, Inc. (GEM) is a Chicago-based real
estate investment company that invests in private-market real estate
assets and publicly-traded real estate securities through two lines of
business, GEM Realty Properties and GEM Realty Securities. GEM has
approximately $4 billion of assets under management on behalf of pension
plans, endowments, foundations, financial institutions and private
clients. GEM is currently investing capital for its fifth discretionary
private real estate fund, GEM Realty Fund V, L.P.
About Farallon Capital Management
Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C. is a global institutional asset
management firm founded in 1986. Farallon manages approximately $19.5
billion for institutions, including college endowments, charitable
foundations and pension plans, and for high net worth individuals.
Farallon employs approximately 180 employees. Farallon is headquartered
in San Francisco and has offices in London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo
and Sao Paulo. Farallon is currently investing capital for Farallon Real
Estate Partners, which targets income-producing office, multifamily,
retail and industrial properties. More information about Farallon may be
found at www.faralloncapital.com.
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