For guests, they'll never notice one of the premiere hotels in the heart of this ski village has traded hands. The hotel will retain its current name and will remain branded as a full-service Marriott resort. Vail Resorts, through its Vail Resorts Lodging Co. subsidiary, will continue to manage the resort for 15 years, through 2020, under a management contract with DiamondRock that is co-terminus with the Marriott franchise agreement for the hotel.

"Vail Resorts has benefited significantly from our acquisition of this hotel just 3½ years ago," says Adam Aron, Vail Resorts chairman and CEO. First, he says, the company's renovation of the property has given Vail guests a much more attractive lodging option. Second, he says the company believes it received an attractive price in the now consummated sale. Third, retention of a long-term management agreement for the hotel is financially beneficial for the company, giving it a stream of management fees for 15 years.

"Additionally, our managing the hotel will allow us to have greater participation in the Vail lodging community going forward," Aron adds. "And fourth, we have retained two key real estate development parcels, much of which land came to us with the purchase of the hotel in 2001. We currently anticipate that Gore Creek Place and the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Vail will be built on these two parcels, both of which could be quite lucrative if developed as planned."