Leveraging Market Drive, New Owner Acquires Two Amelia Island Hotels – Amelia Island Living
Two Amelia Island boutique hotels recently changed hands. Both with a longstanding presence on this northeast Florida barrier island that predates the new generation of nationally branded hotels that have sprung up with the growth of tourism in recent decades.
RREAF Holdings LLCa Dallas-based private real estate investment and development company, and Hotels in Innisfreea leading coastal hotel operator in the Southeast, announced the acquisition of these two island hotels in a press release dated June 21, 2022.
The Hotel Amelia was a family run business, located on the busy corner of Sadler Road and South Fletcher, directly opposite the beachfront restaurant/bar Sliders (pictured above). This is the beach access from Fernandina’s Sadler Road in Park by the sea. Right next to it on the adjacent parcel to the west of the Hotel Amelia is the ocean coast hotel, requiring only a few more steps to walk to the beach (along a sidewalk and then across South Fletcher Avenue). The two hotels together have 225 rooms.
Highlight the Drive-To destination market
According to the press release announcing the two hotel purchases:
“This market is well positioned to capture the pent-up travel demand of millions of Americans who live within a day’s drive of the Atlantic coast.”
RREAF Holdings LLC, press release (June 21, 2022)
“The properties – Ocean Coast Hotel and Amelia Hotel – are located in one of the top U.S. drive-by destination markets, which welcomed more than 1.3 million visitors in 2021,” says the press release.
During the acquisition process, RREAF partnered with Innisfree Hotels, which will manage the properties. Innisfree is one of the premier operators of beachfront hotels and resorts in the Southeastern United States.
Kip Sowden, CEO of RREAF Holdings said “We are opportunistic shoppers and believe now is the time to buy and grow as consumers are eager to get out and travel post-COVID.”
“We are very pleased to add these stunning properties to the Innisfree Hotels portfolio, in partnership with RREAF Holdings,” said Innisfree President and CEO Ted Ent. “Amelia Island’s Fernandina Beach is a perfect family getaway or conference destination, and we look forward to providing our guests with a world-class experience and true Innisfree hospitality.”
Driving on the beach at Seaside Park / Sadler Road
On the theme of the “driving market”, but in a different context, Seaside Park near these two hotels remains the only beachfront access point in the town of Fernandina where the general public (including tourists in visit) can still drive a 4×4 vehicle on the sandy seafront. park (in a 600 foot wide area). It is a very busy section of the city’s coastline during the summer, especially on weekends. The city closes the Seaside Park beach entrance gate to vehicles when maximum capacity is reached.
Pictured below, vehicles were already parked at the Sadler Road beach access in Seaside Park around 8am on this summer morning in June 2022. During sea turtle nesting season (May 1 – Oct. 31), vehicles are not permitted on the beach before 7 a.m. and after 9 p.m.
A walk in memory
The hotel on the largest plot of land — the ocean coast hotel site at 2707 Sadler Road – is probably more widely known as the former Days Inn Hotel & Suites with a Shoney’s restaurant opposite. Taking a stroll down memory lane, long-time locals may recall Shoney’s popular weekly “breakfasts for dinner.” The chef’s station offered custom made omelettes and freshly made waffles at a great price. V Pizza opened last year in this food court.
With the addition of these two hotels, Hotel Innisfree local portfolio has increased. It was five years ago (May 2017) when Innisfree Hotels announced that it had taken ownership of the Amelia Inn by the sea located at Fernandina’s Main Beach Park (picture below).
At that time, in May 2017, Jason Nicholson, Vice President of Operations, said:
“This property will be an anchor for Innisfree in a highly underdeveloped market. . . After developing the Seaside Amelia Inn to its best potential, we can look outside of this property for opportunities to build or develop additional hotels in this cool, laid-back community.
Hotels in Innisfree also manages the largest new hotel built on Amelia Island in the last 20 years, located near Fernandina Main Beach. It opened last year in May 2021, the Courtyard by Marriott and Spring Hill Suites on Atlantic Avenue. photographed in March 2021 before its official opening.
Learn more about RREAF at rreaf.com and Innisfree at innisfreehotels.com.
