BETHESDA, Md. – July 23, 2021 – Pebblebrook Hotel Trust today announced that it acquired the Jekyll Island Club Resort for $94.0 million. The 200-room resort is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is located in the heart of Jekyll Island, one of the renowned Golden Isles off the coast of Georgia. The Company retained Noble House Hotels & Resorts (“Noble House”) to manage the resort.
Jekyll Island Club Resort includes the Jekyll Island Club, located on the East River, which features 159 guest rooms and suites inspired by late 19th-century charm and décor across four landmarked buildings, each with a custom design and layout including three unique Victorian-style private mansions. The resort also features the Jekyll Ocean Club, an oceanfront oasis opened in 2017, featuring 41 guestrooms, including 40 spacious suites, with breathtaking ocean views and access to the Atlantic Ocean. Jekyll Island Club Resort boasts over 14,000 square feet of unique indoor meeting space, 5 restaurants and lounges, including the acclaimed Grand Dining Room, the extremely popular Wharf Restaurant and the ocean front and open-air Eighty Ocean Kitchen and Bar, 2 outdoor pools, numerous outdoor verandas and dramatic event lawns, access to pristine beaches, and a quintessential 19th-century style croquet lawn.
“We’re very excited to acquire this iconic resort on historic Jekyll Island,” said Jon E. Bortz, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust. “This regional drive-to retreat is the island’s premier destination, strategically located in the center of the Jekyll Island National Landmark Historic District. There are many opportunities at the resort to increase the property’s financial performance through operational enhancements and physical improvements, including elevating the entire guest experience, expanding the restaurant and bar offerings, reimagining the merchandising and quality of the retail space, and creating many more revenue-generating venues. Our redevelopment expertise combined with our asset management initiatives should generate tremendous value creation at this storied resort.”
When initially established in 1888, the Jekyll Island Club Resort was positioned as an exclusive retreat and playground for the nation’s wealthiest families, including the Vanderbilts, Morgans, Pulitzers, and Rockefellers, who built the resort’s Victorian mansions. For more than 100 years, Jekyll Island Club Resort has been famed for its elegant design, unrivaled surroundings, island stewardship, and environmental sustainability.
Jekyll Island is part of the Golden Isles, a group of four barrier islands off the coast of Georgia, which includes St. Simons Island, Sea Island, and Little St. Simons Island. Jekyll Island is a popular yet intimate vacation destination that features miles of outdoor amenities, including extensive biking and hiking trails, oceanfront nature escapes, horse-drawn carriage tours and several well-appointed public golf courses. The island prides itself on its focus on environmental sustainability. All development is controlled by the Jekyll Island Authority, a self-supporting state entity responsible for the overall management, preservation, and stewardship of Jekyll Island.
Noble House has been selected by Pebblebrook to manage Jekyll Island Club Resort. Following the acquisition of Jekyll Island Club Resort, Noble House now manages six of Pebblebrook’s properties.
“We are excited to partner with Noble House on another prestigious resort,” continued Mr. Bortz. “Noble House has extensive experience transforming and creatively operating high-quality, iconic resorts, including our LaPlaya Beach Resort & Club in Naples, Florida, our redeveloped San Diego Mission Bay Resort, and our recently renovated L’Auberge Del Mar in southern California. We look forward to adding Jekyll Island Club Resort to our growing resort collection with Noble House.”
“We are honored to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to manage this iconic resort and to celebrate its storied history and natural beauty,” said Sean Mullen, President, Acquisitions, Sales & Revenue Management for Noble House Hotels & Resorts. “This unique resort features the island’s finest sunset and ocean views, spacious verandas and lawns, canopies of ancient oak trees, and stunning natural gardens. This positions Jekyll Island Resort as the perfect destination for celebrations and gatherings of all sizes, hosting over 100 weddings each year while also welcoming families and other small groups that are attracted to the history and natural beauty of Jekyll Island.”
For full-year 2021, Jekyll Island Club Resort is forecasted to operate at 68 percent occupancy, with a $268 average daily rate (“ADR”), $182 room revenue per available room (“RevPAR”), and $360 of total revenue per available room (“TRevPAR”). The resort is expected to generate hotel earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“Hotel EBITDA”) of $7.6 million and hotel net operating income (“hotel NOI”) after a 4% capital reserve of $6.6 million.
The acquisition of Jekyll Island Club Resort brings the total number of properties in the Company’s portfolio to 52, which includes 9 drive-to, independent lifestyle resorts.
Contract to Sell Villa Florence San Francisco on Union Square
The Company executed a contract to sell Villa Florence San Francisco on Union Square for $87.5 million to an unaffiliated third party. Pebblebrook expects the sale to be completed in the third quarter of 2021. The sale is subject to normal closing conditions, and the Company offers no assurances that this sale will be completed on these terms or at all.
