Intrawest Joins K2 in Operation of Solara Canmore
CANMORE, Canada, June 2, 2006. K2 Developments Ltd. announced today a strategic partnership with Intrawest Corporation as operator of its 214-suite condo-hotel, Solara Canmore Resort & Spa.
The alliance is Intrawest's first hospitality venture in Alberta and its first third-party management contract in Canada. The publicly traded company is known for its ownership and management of mountain resorts including Whistler Blackcomb and Panorama in British Columbia, Blue Mountain in Ontario and Mt. Tremblant in Quebec. Intrawest also manages hotels affiliated with Westin, Marriott and Hard Rock Hotels.
"Bringing Intrawest onboard to operate Solara means great things for the luxury traveler," said Robert Adelson, president of Canmore-based K2 Developments Ltd. "Intrawest has the kind of experience and knowledge of upscale resort management and that is a perfect fit for Solara."
K2 Developments has also partnered with Intrawest in its Resort to Resort exchange network, which offers owners in Solara Canmore the opportunity to exchange usage in their own suite for vacation usage of an "R2R" property in a rapidly expanding network of luxurious international resort properties.
The partnership will add to the 3,000 accommodation units Intrawest manages in Canada with a total of 8,000 units in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe. This represents a new direction for the company as it expands beyond the management of its own real estate holdings in this country.
Bruce Pittet, Intrawest's Regional Vice President, Lodging Operations, said the partnership with Solara is significant in the new business opportunity it represents for Intrawest, and for the value and experience his firm will add to Solara as it attracts visitors accustomed to luxury service, accommodations and amenities.
"Intrawest is known for the superb locations of our resort properties," said Pittet. "Solara certainly delivers on that with the incredible back drop of the Canadian Rockies and the outstanding four-season recreation in the area. A long-term strategic partnership with K2 Developments makes sense to us."
Solara Canmore Resort & Spa will bring the first full-scale resort and spa condominium hotel operation of its kind to the Canadian Rockies. It is currently under construction and selling whole and fractional ownership in its 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom residences. Solara Canmore will open in the summer of 2007.
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