Jan. 9--Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts says it no longer plans to sell any of its hotels after a deal to sell its hotel in Colorado Springs and six others collapsed last week. 

Adam's Mark confirmed Tuesday that the deal to sell the downtown Antlers Adam's Mark was canceled after it refused the buyer's request to extend the deadline to complete the deal. Buyer Fort Mitchell, Ky.-based Columbia Sussex Corp., the nation's largest Marriott franchisee, had sought more time to evaluate the deal. 

The purchase would have included the Antlers Adam's Mark Hotel in downtown Colorado Springs and Adam's Mark hotels in Houston; Philadelphia; Clearwater, Fla.; Columbia, S.C.; and Memphis, Tenn. The transaction was scheduled for completion later this month. 

"We were ready to consummate the deal under the original terms but felt an extension was not in our best interests," said Fred Kummer, Adam's Mark president and chief executive. "We're a solid company despite tough challenges facing our industry." 

Adam's Mark put the hotels on the market in November in response to the travel-industry slowdown triggered by a slowing economy and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Kummer said he has changed his mind about selling the hotels because the company is expected to recover from the downturn more quickly than expected. 

Adam's Mark spokesman Randy Myers said the chain's bookings "have been typical of what the industry has experienced -- a gradual upward trend that is expected to continue this year." The St. Louis-based company operates 24 hotels in 14 states. 

But one local source who asked not to be identified said the transaction fell apart because lenders on the six hotels refused to allow Columbia Sussex to take over payments on the mortgages against the properties, a requirement included in the deal. The same source suggested the hotel, or hotels, still may be for sale. 

Columbia Sussex officials were not available for comment Tuesday. The company had announced plans to build a 275-room Marriott hotel in Colorado Springs in 1998 but never started the project. 

Adam's Mark bought the Antlers in 1998 for $35.4 million along with another hotel in Grand Junction. The Antlers is among the oldest hotels in Colorado Springs, built by the city's founder, Gen. William Palmer, in 1883 and rebuilt twice since then. 

-----To see more of The Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.gazette.com 

(c) 2002, The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. MAR,