The acquisition follows Ashford's November 2003 purchase of the 119-room, four-year-old Hilton Garden Inn and the 102-suite, three-year-old SpringHill Suites, both in Jacksonville. That acquisition was part of a four-hotel portfolio the REIT purchased from Noble Investment Group of Atlanta for $33.9 million, or about $86,132 per room, as GlobeSt.com previously reported.

In acquiring the 32-year-old, 193-room oceanfront Sea Turtle Inn, Ashford gains entry to one of the most desirable resort markets in the state and the only full-service hotel in the Atlantic Beach/Jacksonville Beach markets. The hotel is 14 miles east of Downtown Jacksonville and Interstate 95.

"We have focused our direct hotel investment strategy to date primarily on properties that were either under-managed, well below replacement cost or offered strategic diversification to our portfolio," says Ashford president and CEO Monty J. Bennett. "The Sea Turtle Inn exceeds our investment hurdles by offering a strong initial yield, the opportunity to increase cash flow through enhanced cost controls, and an enviable competitive position in Atlantic, Jacksonville and Neptune Beaches due to current development and environmental restrictions."