When the resort opens in late 2014, it will house a variety of family friendly amenities including a teen recreation center.
Four Seasons recently announced that financing has been secured for a $360 million resort that will open inside Disney’s Orlando theme park in January. The developer will break ground in December, reports the USA Today.
The resort will be located in Disney’s master-planned Golden Oaks community near the Osprey Ridge Golf Course, which Four Seasons will eventually manage.
When the resort opens in late 2014, it will be the Toronto-based operator’s biggest yet with 444 rooms and a variety of family friendly amenities including a climbing wall, basketball courts and a teen recreation center. There will also be a rooftop restaurant with panoramic views of the Magic Kingdom.
Four Seasons was able to find financing for the resort despite lenders’ lack of interest in the category since September 2008, when Lehman Brothers crashed, financial markets melted down and travelers cut back on trips. Though luxury hotels are seeing a rebound in business since the recession, financing full-service hotels still remains almost impossible.
“One of the things we’re excited about is that we were able to move forward in an environment that’s certainly been challenging, particularly since the fall of 2008,” Scott Woroch, Four Seasons’ global development chief tells me. “It really speaks to the entire group’s confidence in the project.”
Four Seasons will hold a 30% stake in the project; the rest will be split between New York-based developer Silverstein Properties and New York private equity fund Dune Real Estate Partners. Grupo Financiero Imbursa, a Mexico City based bank, will provide $190 million in construction financing.
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