Two new Hotels near Seaworld; December 13, 2023
Trio of new hotels slated for I-Drive corridor near SeaWorld
A trio of new hotels all within walking distance to Sea World will add another 782 rooms to the I-Drive corridor.
SeaWorld Orlando filed plans this week to build a new 504-key hotel on roughly 30 acres of property currently owned by the theme park at the corner of I-Drive and Central Florida Parkway.
Sea World Entertainment CEO Marc Swanson told investors during the company’s third quarter earnings call that more details regarding the new hotels would be released soon.
“We continue to make progress on our strategic growth initiatives related to hotels, international expansion and our digital activities,” he said. “We have also made meaningful incremental investments across our parks this year that we expect to fully benefit from in the coming quarters. We look forward to sharing more on these exciting and value creating initatives and investments in the coming quarters in 2024.”
One such investment is the Penguin Trek family launch coaster at SeaWorld Orlando. The company also operates theme parks in San Diego, Tampa, Williamsburg and San Antonio and welcomed 7.1 million visitors across all properties over the first nine months of 2023.
Earlier this month, Ohio-based Key Hotel & Property Management also sought to reactivate stalled plans for a pair of extended-stay hotels just across the street on land the company purchased in 2019.
fThe development plan calls for two 6-story Hilton Home2 Suites hotels, each with 139 rooms, a pool and surface parking. (Elevation by Base 4 Architecture)Key affiliate Ultra LLC bought the two parcels at 11080 International Dr. for $3.5 million with entitlements for the two 6-story hotels, but the permits expired. On Dec. 4, the same developer refiled the Development Plan with Orange County for the two Hilton Home2 Suites hotels, each with 139 rooms, surface parking and outdoor pools.
Home2 Suites guest suites feature separate sleeping and living areas, with a kitchenette equipped with full-sized appliances. Induction burner cooktops are available upon request at no extra cost. The hotel includes a 24-hour fitness center and a saltwater pool among other amenities.
The developer used the same team as before — Boyd Civil Engineering and Base4 Architecture while adding in Jim Hall with HDSi. The DP identifies the hotels as buildings 1 and 2, but does not indicate the project would be built over two phases.
