The hotels involved in the transactions include New Mexico's 411-room Albuquerque Marriott, a 17-story property that also features 16,000 sf of meeting space; the Hartford Marriott Farmington in Farmington, CT, which features 381 rooms and 14,000 sf available for meetings; and the 14-story Tampa Marriott Westshore in Florida featuring 310 rooms and 9,000 sf among its various meeting rooms. The last three hotels--the Bethesda Marriott, the Torrance (CA) Marriott and Utah's Salt Lake City Marriott Downtown--were acquired by Diamond Rock Hospitality Co. for $41.6 million, $61.5 million and $49.5 million, respectively. The Bethesda sale was previously announced. Bill McCarten, chairman and chief executive officer of DiamondRock, says the company, which will elect to be a lodging REIT when it files its first tax return, will invest more than $10 million in the Torrance Hotel "to renovate the property and capture higher rated business." The hotel is located two miles from the ocean and is adjacent to the Del Amo Mall.

Of the Salt Lake asset, he says, "the hotel has an excellent Downtown location, directly across from the Salt Palace Convention Center and is connected to the Crossroads Plaza Mall. In addition, the hotel is centrally located with respect to many business and city landmarks." DiamondRock has picked up a number of other assets of late including Hotel 5A in Midtown Manhattan, the Courtyard by Marriott Midtown East and the Marriott Griffin Gate Resort in Lexington, KY.