This acquisition increases the hospitality REIT's direct hotel portfolio to 18 assets with a total of 2,971 rooms. This Sheraton, located near I-95, Route 1 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, is adjacent to the Sesame Street Place theme park, Oxford Valley Mall, and Frankford Bucks Hospital. It was completed in 1986 and is a full-service property with 12,000 sf of meeting space, a restaurant, lobby bar and exercise facility.

The renovation, designed to bring the hotel into conformance with the Starwood Property Improvement Plan, is scheduled to take place in three phases, beginning at the closing with completion by the end of 2005. It will include complete renovation of guest rooms and baths and the restaurant along with upgrades to the common areas, meeting room and exercise facility.

"We believe that a complete renovation of this full-service property will enable this asset to further outperform other hotels in the market," says Monty J. Bennett, Ashford's president and CEO, noting that the hotel has "enjoyed an enviable competitive position over the years with a strong brand, great location and local market reputation." Bennett adds, the acquisition "provides us with a very high initial yield for a full-service hotel of this type and location."

Ashford has not established an asking price for the adjacent office building, which was developed along with the hotel and was, therefore, included in the sale. "We don't want to condition the market," the Ashford spokesman says, "but we do want to dispose of it. We're in the hotel business."