FelCor Acquires Second SC Resort

MYRTLE BEACH, SC— Irving, TX-based lodging REIT FelCor Lodging Trust has acquired the 385-room Wyndham Myrtle Beach Resort and Arcadian Shores Golf Club here. The hotel, a leasehold interest in the golf course, and adjacent land were purchased for $35.3 million, and FelCor expects to convert the facility to a Hilton property sometime in spring 2003. As such, the company plans to upgrade the guestrooms and the public space as part of a $10-million renovation program. Additionally, FelCor executed a 15-year management agreement with Hilton Hotels Corp. concurrent with the acquisition closing. To acquire the hotel, FelCor utilized excess cash held on its balance sheet, and maintains no outstanding balance on its line of credit. As noted by Michael DeNicola, FelCor’s EVP and chief investment officer, “The resort’s proximity to our Embassy Suites Hotel- Kingston Plantation provides the added-value opportunity to complex the management of both properties with Hilton Hotels.” The Embassy Suites property is part of a 145-acre Kingston Plantation master-planned oceanfront resort community. The similarly oceanfront Wyndham Myrtle Beach Resort features 385 rooms, and is located on South Carolina’s Grand Strand. Adjacent to the 16-story resort is the Arcadian Golf Shores Club, featuring an 18-hole Rees Jones championship golf course. Additional amenities include approximately 16,000 square feet of meeting space and an exhibit hall in the hotel. All told, there is a total of approximately 100,000 square feet of meeting space available through Kingston Plantation and the Wyndham Myrtle Beach Resort.