The acquisition follows Ashford's November 2003 purchase of the119-room, four-year-old Hilton Garden Inn and the 102-suite,three-year-old SpringHill Suites, both in Jacksonville. Thatacquisition was part of a four-hotel portfolio the REIT purchasedfrom 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 TurtleInn, Ashford gains entry to one of the most desirable resortmarkets in the state and the only full-service hotel in theAtlantic Beach/Jacksonville Beach markets. The hotel is 14 mileseast of Downtown Jacksonville and Interstate 95.

"We have focused our direct hotel investment strategy to dateprimarily on properties that were either under-managed, well belowreplacement cost or offered strategic diversification to ourportfolio," says Ashford president and CEO Monty J. Bennett. "TheSea Turtle Inn exceeds our investment hurdles by offering a stronginitial yield, the opportunity to increase cash flow throughenhanced cost controls, and an enviable competitive position inAtlantic, Jacksonville and Neptune Beaches due to currentdevelopment and environmental restrictions."