It's now official: Prime Hospitality Corp. has agreed to sell the Marriott Frenchman's Reef Resort Hotel to Marriott International Inc.
The announcement, made Wednesday afternoon, said the closing is subject to certain unspecified conditions that must be satisfied within the next 120 days.
Marriott International will operate the property upon closing.
The Reef, which two years ago underwent a $52 million renovation following damages from Hurricanes Marilyn and Bertha in 1995 and 1996, has 504 rooms — 408 rooms at the top of Muhlenfels Point overlooking St. Thomas harbor and 96 rooms in the adjacent Morningstar Beach Resort.
The hotel has been operated by Prime since 1984.
"The proposed sale is part of Prime's ongoing strategy to reduce its real estate holdings and focus its resources on the growth of its proprietary AmeriSuites and Wellesley Inn & Suites brands," the release from the hotel said.
Prime Hospitality Corp, one of the nation's premiere lodging companies, owns, manages or franchises more than 200 hotels throughout the United States. Prime operates three proprietary brands, AmeriSuites (all-suites), HomeGate Studios & Suites (extended-stay) and Wellesley Inns (limitedservice).
The company previously announced that, effective Nov. 1, it will merge its Wellesley and HomeGate chains into the new Wellesley Ian & Suites chain.
Also within Prime's portfolio are owned and/or managed hotels operated under franchise agreements with national chains, including Hilton, Sberaton, Radisson, Holiday Inn, Ramada, Country Inns and Howard Johnson.