Wyndham International, Inc. (NYSE:WYN) announced today that it has acquired one of New Orleans leading hotels and renamed it the Wyndham New Orleans at Canal Place, effective today.
“Our new Wyndham New Orleans at Canal Place is a four-diamond, flagship hotel in the heart of a major tourism and convention center,” said James D. Carreker, chairman and chief executive officer. “This transaction, coming just two weeks after the sale of our Arcadian historic hotels in the U.K., represents our continuing strategy of focusing on hotels and resorts that can fly the Wyndham flag.”

The New Orleans hotel, which was previously known as the Westin Canal Place, is the latest of 17 domestic hotels and resorts added to the Wyndham brand this year, including three new hotels in downtown Atlanta, Boston and Chicago. The company is selling non-core assets, such as the 11 hotels in the United Kingdom, to help fund the acquisition and development of proprietary-branded assets, such as the New Orleans hotel.

The transaction to purchase the 438-room New Orleans hotel included approximately 85% of the retail mall component of the Canal Place mixed-use complex, as well as the center`s parking garage. In addition, Wyndham has signed a contract to sell the retail and parking facilities to Canal Place Investors, a limited liability company whose principals are Roger Ogden and Darryl Berger. A 32-story office tower in the Canal Place complex owned by Aetna Life Insurance was not a part of either transaction. Terms were not disclosed.

The Wyndham New Orleans at Canal Place hotel is the company`s third Wyndham-branded hotel in the city. The others are the 202-room Wyndham Riverfront Hotel and the 216-room Bourbon Orleans—A Wyndham Historic Hotel. The company also owns the 759-room Radisson New Orleans.

“Given the importance of New Orleans as a tourist and convention destination, the Wyndham New Orleans hotel fills a strategic gap for the Wyndham brand, adding a very high-profile property to our portfolio of upper upscale hotel products,” added Carreker.

Fred J. Kleisner, president and chief operating officer, added that Wyndham New Orleans at Canal Place is an important addition to the company`s southern rotation coverage in convention destination markets. Wyndham currently owns and/or manages four other top international meeting properties serving the southern rotation, including the Wyndham Anatole Hotel in Dallas, the Wyndham Palace Resort & Spa in Orlando, the Wyndham Emerald Plaza in San Diego and the Wyndham El Conquistador Resort & Country Club in Las Croabas, Puerto Rico.

Wyndham New Orleans at Canal Place:
The 18-story Wyndham New Orleans (occupying floors 11-29) is located at the foot of Canal Street in the French Quarter. It is next to the new casino and near the Convention Center, the Riverwalk and the business district. The hotel recently completed a $23 million renovation, which included the upgrading of all common areas including the lobby, meeting space and pool deck, as well as a complete guest room renovation.

Other features include 35,000 square feet of meeting space, valet parking, complementary shuttle service, a full-service restaurant with sweeping river views, an open-air terrace, a full-service lounge, rooftop pool and a complete fitness center. The hotel maintains 12 business guest offices, equipped with fax machines and modem connections, as well as an Executive Club Lounge on the 27th floor.

Canal Place was built beginning in 1978 and was designed to be a high-quality, mixed-use facility comprised of an office, hotel, mall, and parking facility. The 255,000 square foot class “A” regional mall, known as The Shops at Canal Place, occupies the first three floors of the complex, and is currently managed by Canal Place Management, Inc., an affiliate of Hines Interests.

The mall is anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue, which occupies 106,540 square feet under a long-term leasehold position, and includes a mix of quality, upper-end retailers such as Gucci, Brooks Brothers, Williams-Sonoma, Ann Taylor and Pottery Barn. The Garage at Canal Place contains 1,550 parking spaces.

Wyndham International, Inc. is one of the world`s largest hospitality and lodging companies. Through its proprietary brands and management services division, the company offers primarily upscale and luxury hotel and resort accommodations in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe. Headquartered in Dallas, Wyndham International owns, leases, manages and franchises more than 300 hotels totaling more than 70,000 rooms. For more information, visit www.wyndhamintl.com.

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