Ryman Hospitality Properties is buying the Grande Lakes Orlando Resort for $1.38 billion from Trinity Investments.
Ryman, a hotel-focused real estate investment trust, said the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, according to a news release. The 409-acre resort complex includes a 1,010-key JW Marriott and 582-key Ritz-Carlton as well as a Greg Norman-designed 18-hole championship golf course.
Marriott International will continue to manage both hotel properties.
“Grande Lakes is a terrific asset and one that fits all of our ownership criteria,” Ryman President and CEO Mark Fioravanti said in the release. “The transaction strengthens our JW Marriott and Gaylord Hotels customer rotation strategies, expands our presence in the nation’s top meetings market and creates the opportunity for meaningful portfolio synergies.”
The resort also introduces Ritz-Carlton as a new luxury brand to the Ryman portfolio, Fioravanti said. It will provide access to a high-value customer segment and unique customer insights to further strengthen the REIT’s platform.
The Grande Lakes Orlando Resort is one of the largest resorts in the greater Orlando area. The JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton together offer 1,592 guestrooms and approximately 320,000 square feet of versatile indoor and outdoor meeting and event space. The amenities include a 40,000-square-foot Ritz-Carlton spa and fitness center, 14 food and beverage outlets, the Grand Lakes Waterpark and the championship golf course at the Ritz-Carlton Golf & Tennis Club, home of the PNC Championship.
In a joint venture with Elliot Management Corp., Trinity bought the resort complex for $870 million in 2018 from Blackstone, according to CoStar data. The joint venture later refinanced the resort in 2023, securing a $750 million floating rate commercial mortgage-backed security loan. Then, Elliott and Trinity invested approximately $150 million in the resort, focusing on its guestrooms, meeting space and core public areas in both hotels.