NORTH PALM BEACH, Fla.—Driftwood Hospitality Management announced its acquisition of the Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Resort. Perfectly positioned on the white-sand shoreline of Florida’s Cocoa Beach, the 295-room resort will undergo a phased $14M renovation, including upgrades to the guestrooms, public spaces and expansion of the pool bar.
“One of the reasons Driftwood acquired the Hilton Cocoa Beach is due to the resort’s location, just minutes from Cape Canaveral, which is the second busiest cruise port in North America, as well as Orlando, which welcomed more than 57 million tourists in 2012,” said Steve Johnson, executive vice president of acquisitions for Driftwood. “Florida’s Space Coast continues to serve as a strong area for tourism. Combining those facts with the coveted Hilton Hotels flag, makes this property a terrific addition to the Driftwood portfolio.”
The Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Resort currently features a full-service restaurant and lounge, heated outdoor pool, fitness center, and oceanfront pool bar. Amenities and services include surfboard lessons, beach volleyball, and kayak and boogie board rentals. The resort offers 10,000 square feet of flexible function space and can accommodate up to 500 event attendees.
Driftwood will kick off the property-wide renovation program in the coming weeks. Initially, the company will begin updating the hotel’s interior guest spaces, including guestrooms, the lobby, restaurant and bar. Future phases are expected to include updates to the resort’s exterior, including a newly designed pool deck and bar area. The resort will remain fully operational during all renovations, which are slated for completion in the third quarter of 2014.
“Driftwood is a turnaround expert and has vast experience refurbishing hotels and resorts of our size, so we are confident that once this program is complete, the Hilton Cocoa Beach will be the Space Coast’s leading beachfront property,” said Debra Green, the resort’s general manager. “We look forward to collaborating with Driftwood to create a welcoming environment for guests to experience all the Space Coast has to offer.”
