UPDATE: CNL Closes on $753M Resort Acquisition

ORLANDO-Locally based CNL Hotels & Resorts Inc. has officially added its 93rd and 94th hotels to its $6-billion portfolio with the Feb. 27 closing on the 500-acre, 1,582-room Grande Lakes Resort in south Orlando. GlobeSt.com reported the $753-million acquisition Jan. 4.

The 2.5-year-old property at John Young Parkway and Central Florida Parkway includes the 25-story, $200-million JW Marriott Hotel; the 15-story, $117-million Ritz-Carlton; a 40,000-sf spa and an 18-hole Greg Norman-designed golf course, both at the Ritz. The seller was an affiliate of privately held Annapolis, MD-based Thayer Lodging Group which completed the $600-million resort in July 2003 when both hotels formally opened.