The hotels, which are both located on Eighth Avenue in the Theater District of Manhattan, were built by Loews in 1962. The Howard Johnson Hotel contains 300 rooms and is located on Eighth Avenue and 51st Street.  The 367-room Days Hotel is located on Eighth Avenue and 49th street. Both hotels are limited service properties and have been undergoing renovations since in 1996.

�Loews Hotels is in the largest expansion in the company�s 53-year history, and while these hotels have been a profitable part of our portfolio for several decades, we sold them to keep our focus on the development of new four and five star hotels,� said Jonathan Tisch, president and CEO, Loews Hotels.  In New York, Loews continues to own and operate The Regency Hotel on Park Avenue and 61st Street and the Loews New York Hotel on 51st and Lexington Avenue.

�This transaction was successful since it furthered key objectives for both Loews and Hampshire.  Loews was able to divest of properties that did not fit with their strategy of operating and branding upscale hotels in urban and resort locations,� stated Arthur Adler, managing director of Sonnenblick-Goldman Company�s lodging and Leisure Group.  �Likewise, these properties fit ideally in Hampshire�s portfolio, which focuses on Manhattan where value added operating and marketing initiatives can be implemented.�

Over the last few years, Loews Hotels has invested $200 million in equity with various partners to develop $1 billion worth of new hotels.

Currently, Loews Hotels owns and/or operates 14 hotels and resorts in the U.S. and Canada.  As part of the largest expansion in the chain�s history, the company has recently opened three new properties, with four more in various stages of development.  These include the first ever House of Blues Hotel, a Loews Hotel, a 367-room property located in Chicago�s Marina City that opened in October 1998, and the opening of the 800-room Loews Miami Beach
Hotel in December.  And, as part of a joint venture with Universal, Inc. and the Rank Organisation, Loews Hotels opened the first of three hotels located at Universal Studios Escape in Orlando.  The 750-room Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Studios Escape, a Loews Hotel, opened in September 1999.  That will be followed by the 650-room Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Studios Escape in Fall 2000, and the 1,000-room Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Studios Escape, a Loews Hotel, in 2001.  Also in development is the conversion of the landmark PSFS building, which will open in April 2000 as the 585-room Loews Philadelphia Hotel.  Most recently, Loews has announced the development of the 432 room Loews Boston Hotel, a ground-up development located in the city�s theater district, which is scheduled to open in 2002.

Sonnenblick-Goldman Company is the industry�s leading independent real estate investment banking firm.  Founded in 1893 to serve the financing needs of he real estate industry, Sonnenblick-Goldman Company provides a full range of real estate financial services including debt and equity placements, joint ventures, investment sales and real estate advisory services.  Headquartered in New York, Sonnenblick-Goldman Company maintains offices in Denver, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Singapore, and Washington, D.C.  In 1998, Sonnenblick-Goldman Company completed major commercial real estate transactions with a gross value of over $8 billion.