Local news & views around the Florida-Georgia border.
Omni Amelia Island Plantation Recognized As Best Hotel Asset Deal of The Year
It appears OMNI made a great investment deal buying Amelia Island Plantation’s hotel. Singled out as the best of year 2010, was Omni’s purchase of the hotel on Amelia Island Plantation. The “Single Asset Transaction of the Year” award to be presented at The Americas Lodging Investment Summit.
AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. (January 8, 2011) – Omni’s purchase of Amelia Island Plantation’s 249-room hotel, the Amelia Inn & Beach Club, has been recognized as one of the most significant deals of the year 2010 in the hospitality industry. The hotel is part of the resort property located on Florida’s most northeastern barrier island (just north of Jacksonville), on the Florida-Georgia border.
There are just three nominees for the “Single Asset Transaction of the Year 2010,” an award that will be presented at The Americas Lodging Investment Summit, (ALIS), January 24 – 26, 2011. This year the event is taking place in San Diego, California.
***UPDATE January 26, 2011*** AND THE WINNER IS Omni Hotels & Resorts’ Amelia Island Plantation purchase***
Called the top hotel investment conference in the world, The Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), reportedly attracts thousands of attendees. Leading hotel industry executives travel from around the globe to be at this industry conference. The Keynote Speaker this year in 2011 is Sir Richard Branson, founder and president of Virgin Group. Also in attendance at this event are the lodging industry’s top investors, lenders and developers. (Those who would like to attend this event can still register for $1,800.)
HERE ARE NOMINEES FOR “SINGLE ASSET TRANSACTION OF THE YEAR 2010” AWARD TO BE PRESENTED IN JANUARY 2011
• LaSalle Hotel Properties purchase of the 237-room Hotel Sofitel – Lafayette Square – Washington, D.C., for $95 million, or approximately $400,844 per room, from GEM Realty Capital and Whitehall Street 2005 International.
• Sunstone Hotel Investors purchase of the 412-room Royal Palm – Miami Beach, Florida, for $126.1 million, or approximately $306,000 per room, from Wachovia (Wells Fargo) Bank.
Other awards to be presented at the ALIS event include “Development of the Year 2010,” the “Merger & Acquisition of the Year” and the “Jack A. Shaffer Financial Advisor of the Year.”
Award winners already announced:
Kathleen Taylor, president and chief executive officer of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, will receive the 2011 International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) “Pioneer Award” at ALIS.
John C. Portman, Jr., chairman of John Portman & Associates, Inc., Portman Holdings, LLC, and AmericasMart, will be honored with the prestigious “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the 2011 Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in recognition of his vision and innovative designs, which have had a profound impact on hotel and public space design.
MORE ABOUT AMELIA ISLAND PLANTATION RESORT
The Omni Amelia Island Plantation hotel along with on site amenities include:
• 249 oceanfront hotel rooms with patios & balconies overlooking the Atlantic ocean • Three golf courses • 3.5 miles of beachfront and 23 Har-Tru tennis courts • Indoor and outdoor pools and fully equipped fitness center • Luxurious full-service spa and salon onsite • Golf & tennis shops onsite, a Nature Center, and Old Florida-style retail shopping village • Fine dining restaurants and casual eateries • More than 49,000 square feet of meeting space
Besides the Omni hotel, the resort property extends over 1,350 acres, a large chunk of this small island’s southend, with more than two thousand private dwellings near the hotel. Within the resort area there are luxury villas and single-family homes (properties located along the beach, bordering the marsh, or fronting golf fairways). Thus, Amelia Island Plantation is home to many folks, and is a sizable slice of Amelia Island’s luxury residential real estate market.
