Sonnenblick-Eichner Company Arranges $80 Million of First Mortgage Financing for Charleston Place, Charleston, South Carolina

BEVERLY HILLS, CA--(Marketwire - November 16, 2010) - Sonnenblick-Eichner Company announced today that it has arranged $80,000,000 of first mortgage non-recourse financing for Charleston Place, Charleston, South Carolina, on behalf of Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. (NYSE: OEH). The financing was provided by two international banks and is one of the year's largest single asset bank financings for a hotel.

Charleston Place is a premier, 435-room luxury hotel along with 57,000 square feet of high end, boutique retail space situated in the heart of the historical Peninsula District of Charleston, South Carolina. Amenities at the hotel include approximately 37,000 square feet of meeting and banquet facilities; two full-service restaurants, including the award winning Charleston Grill; and a 20,000 square foot state-of-the-art spa and fitness facility. Retailers at the property include Louis Vuitton, Gucci, LaCoste, and Tommy Bahama. Charleston Place has been awarded the "Four-Star" rating by the Forbes Travel Guide and the "Four-Diamond" rating by the American Automobile Association (AAA).

Elliot K. Eichner, Principal of Sonnenblick-Eichner Company commented, "Charleston Place is recognized as one of the top hotels in the United States. That, coupled with the excellent sponsorship of Orient-Express Hotels, resulted in pricing less than 4%."

Patrick Brown, also a Principal, added, "Due to the emerging liquidity we are experiencing in the capital markets today for all product types, we were able to generate significant interest in this transaction from domestic and international commercial banks, life insurance companies, investment banks, mortgage REITs and real estate debt funds.

This is the third LIBOR-based financing arranged by Sonnenblick-Eichner Company for this property. 

About Orient-Express Hotels Ltd.
Orient-Express Hotels Ltd., www.orient-express.com (NYSE: OEH), is a hotel and leisure group focused on the luxury end of the leisure travel market. Orient-Express Hotels currently owns and operates 50 deluxe hotels, restaurants, tourist trains and river cruise ships in 24 countries. Orient-Express acquires distinctive properties in areas of outstanding cultural, historic or recreational interest in order to provide luxury lifestyle experiences for the elite traveler.

About Sonnenblick-Eichner Company
Sonnenblick-Eichner Company (www.sonneich.com) is a Beverly Hills-based real estate investment banking firm that specializes in arranging structured finance for acquisition, construction and permanent loans, interim and mezzanine financing as well as joint-venture equity transactions. The company is recognized for its expertise in marketing institutional real estate for sale and providing capital for all product types including retail, office, hospitality, industrial and multifamily properties. 

Contact Information:

Media Contact:
Colette Schamet
310-286-7700