HEI Hotels & Resorts' Fund III Acquires and Brands Hotel Le Meridien Arlington

NORWALK, Conn., Feb. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- HEI Hotels & Resorts (HEI), a socially responsible investor and employer in the hospitality industry, today announced that the company has purchased the 154-room hotel in the Rosslyn submarket of Arlington, Virginia, for an undisclosed amount.  Effective today, the hotel will become Le Meridien Arlington, offering all the benefits of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, including Starwood Preferred Guest, the company's award-winning loyalty program. The hotel is the eleventh acquisition by HEI's Fund III and is the 43rd hotel in the company's portfolio.

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Hospitality veteran Jon Coleman has been appointed general manager of Le Meridien Arlington.  New to HEI, Jon was recently a general manager with Island Hospitality managing the Sheraton Rockville in Maryland. Prior to that position, Jon spent ten years with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, his last position as a corporate director in the corporate headquarters.  

Le Meridien Arlington is located in the Rosslyn district of northeastern Arlington County, a premier submarket of Washington D.C.  The area is the most urban of the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor with significant office space, infrastructure and large scale development. 

The hotel offers noteworthy food and beverage options in Amuse, a bar & brasserie, and the hotel's 3,200 square feet of function space.  The hotel, constructed in 2007, offers guests a well-maintained contemporary product; however, HEI plans to execute a significant renovation to ensure the hotel offers the best to both leisure and corporate transient clientele. 

"HEI believes strongly in the strength of the Washington D.C. market and Arlington submarket," said Steve Mendell, president of acquisitions and development for HEI Hotels & Resorts. "This acquisition and branding is right in HEI's investment strike zone.  Bringing Jon Coleman on board as general manager will help ensure a superb guest experience."

"This is our 17^th hotel in the Starwood brand family and fifth Le Meridien hotel," said Anthony Rutledge, HEI's CFO and general counsel.  "HEI is confident investing in the Le Meridien brand and will continue to look for opportunities in growth markets."

About HEI Hotels & Resorts
HEI Hotels & Resorts, headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut with 43 properties in 16 states, creates socially responsible investment and employment opportunities through real estate portfolios of hotels and resorts throughout the United States under such well-known brand names as Marriott, Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, Embassy Suites, and Hilton. HEI takes a holistic approach to creating value for its investors and employees by setting the highest standards across all aspects of hotel management and operation and focusing on the central principles of excellence and continuous improvement. HEI prides itself on some of the highest employee satisfaction scores in the hospitality industry, fuels local economic prosperity by investing in communities and is committed to environmental stewardship and sustainability.

To present investment opportunities to HEI, please contact Russ Urban at [email protected].

For more information about HEI, visit the company's website, www.heihotels.com.

About Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts
Le Meridien, the Paris-born hotel brand currently represented by 100 properties in 50 countries, was acquired by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) in November 2005.  With close to 80 of its properties located in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Le Meridien provided a strong international complement to Starwood's then primarily North American holdings at the time of purchase. Since then, Le Meridien has gone through a brand re-launch, which included a large scale hotels product consolidation as well as redefining its brand strategy. By appointing a full-time Cultural Curator – French arts-provocateur Jerôme Sans – Le Meridien transformed numerous guest touch points, thus bringing unique and interactive experiences to its guests. Plans call for dynamic expansion of Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts within the next five years, concentrating in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia-Pacific markets, including destinations such as India, Thailand and China. Le Meridien recently opened new hotels in Istanbul, Coimbatore (India), Koh Samui (Thailand), Taipei, and Philadelphia, and will open in the next 12 months in Bali, Zhengzhou (China), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), and Suvarnabhumi (Thailand).  For more information, please visit www.lemeridien.com.  

SOURCE HEI Hotels & Resorts