LA QUINTA TO OPEN IN ABU DHABI: Wyndham is set to debut its La Quinta by Wyndham brand in Abu Dhabi this month with the opening of La Quinta by Wyndham Abu Dhabi Al Wahda. Located adjacent to the Al Wahda shopping center, the hotel will be Wyndham’s sixth property in Abu Dhabi. The upper-midscale hotel features 107 rooms, a lobby café, an all-day dining restaurant and entertainment spaces. The hotel includes an indoor pool, spa on the 15th floor and a gym. La Quinta by Wyndham Abu Dhabi Al Wahda also marks the brand’s latest addition to its portfolio in the Middle East, where it currently has around 60 hotels. Globally, La Quinta by Wyndham has over 900 locations.
$735M REFI FOR WALT DISNEY SWAN & DOLPHIN RESORT: JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality group has arranged a new $735 million, five-year, floating-rate SASB CMBS term loan to refinance The Walt Disney World Swan, Walt Disney World Dolphin and Walt Disney World Swan Reserve. JLL represented a joint venture between Tishman Hotel & Realty and MetLife Investment Management. The lending was provided by Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. The 2,619-key resort is located adjacent to the theme parks in the Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The property is the only non-Disney hotel situated within a Walt Disney World. Opened in 1989-1990 and 2021, the resort was designed by Michael Graves and built by Tishman and MIM. The property comprises three Marriott-branded hotels – the 756-room Swan (Sheraton), the 1,514-key Dolphin (Westin) and the 349-room Swan Reserve (Autograph Collection). Collectively, the property offers 16 dining venues, seven bars, three fitness centers, six pools, a 12,000-square-foot spa, more than 452,000 square feet of event space and 100,000 square feet of outdoor space.
INDIGO ROAD OPENS IN GEORGETOWN, S.C.: The Indigo Road Hospitality Group has opened The George Hotel in Georgetown, S.C. This is the first hotel to open on the city’s historic Front Street in over 50 years and also marks Indigo Road’s first property to open in its home state of South Carolina. The George was developed by Winyah Properties and is operated by Indigo Road. The hotel features 56 rooms, of which 42 are water-facing. Amenities include a restaurant, an outdoor bar, event spaces and a lawn overlooking the bay. Founded in 2009, Indigo Road has four open and operating hotels, with more slated to open this year, as well as more than 24 restaurants across eight cities.
OMNI ATLANTA UNVEILS REBRANDING, RENOVATIONS: Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park, located in downtown Atlanta, has competed renovations and rebranding. All 600 rooms in the hotel’s North Tower have been fully refurbished. The hotel has both traditional as well as unconventional meeting spaces totaling 120,000 square feet spanning 45 meeting rooms. The hotel offers a total of 1,067 rooms and suites, connectivity to the Georgia World Congress Center and the College Football Hall of Fame, an outdoor pool and sun deck. The hotel is also launching signature, themed suites, located close to the property, which celebrate Atlanta’s iconic landmarks.