The Balsams is Sold

The Tillotson Corporation approved an agreement last week to sell the Balsams Grand Resort with all its assets and about 7,700 acres of land to Ocean Properties, Ltd. Hotels and Resorts of Portsmouth, dba Balville LLC. Ocean Properties owns and operates more than 100 hotels across North America, according to their Web site. The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel, located in Dixville Notch, has operated for more than 150 years.

The sale is expected to be completed before the hotel opens for the summer season.

According to Tillotson's Web site, this agreement comes after an exhaustive search for a new owner for the hotel. Criteria for the purchase were set by the Tillotson Corporation directors to find the right buyer. Those were:
1. To ensure that the Balsams continues to be an engine of economic benefit to the North Country as it has been for generations, employing residents of the North Country to the extent possible,
2. To find a buyer who has both the economic and managerial resources to maintain and grow the reputation of the Balsams as a premier destination resort,
3. To be certain that the new owner would have the same commitment to the environment of the North Country that the Tillotsons demonstrated in their many years of stewardship.

More than 90 potential bidders looked at the opportunity to purchase the property, and many submitted bids. Those bids were all seriously considered and measured against the above-mentioned criteria. In the end, Ocean Properties, a company that preserved and manages Wentworth By the Sea Hotel & Spa on New Hampshire's seacoast, emerged as the most qualified bidder

"Ocean Properties brings an impressive track record, with a portfolio of hotels, commitment to New Hampshire, and management team to the table. They have the same passion for the Balsams that the Tillotsons had," said Tom Deans of North Conway, managing trustee of the Neil Tillotson Trust.

Neil Tillotsons estate plan established a trust giving most of his personal assets, including the stock of Tillotson Corporation, to charity. The trustees of his Trust were given the authority to decide how best to turn Tillotsons generosity and legacy into philanthropic action. Likewise, trustees have been engaged in an extended and thoughtful process to administer the trust's assets for charitable purposes with the philosophy and principles of Tillotson in mind, "Be humble, be creative and be kind." Significant grants have already been made through the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and to a number of other charities in areas where Tillotson had interests.

"Like the Fund the purchase of The Balsams by Ocean Properties Ltd carries on the legacy of supporting local community efforts as well as broad-based initiatives, which link the North Country to the wider region and the global economy," said Jeff McIver, president and general manager of The Balsams.

Ocean Properties has demonstrated success in acquiring, renovating and repositioning historic hotels. The company purchased Wentworth By the Sea Hotel in 1997 after the hotel had been placed on the National Trust list of "Most Endangered Sites." After a $30 million restoration, Wentworth received the Trust's Preservation Success Story and President's Award and also was named Marriott's full-service Hotel of the Year in 2007 for its operating and guest satisfaction success. Ocean manages Wentworth as a Marriott franchise to increase group business during the off-season. Wentworth is the only hotel in NH to make both the Travel + Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler lists of "Best hotels in the world" (January 2011). No other New Hampshire hotel is on either list, although The Balsams once achieved a perfect score in the Conde Nast Traveler reader survey of hotel dining capabilities.

Ocean Properties purchased The Sagamore Resort on Lake George NY in September 2008, investing in room upgrades, amenities improvements and operating efficiencies to return that resort to optimal performance. The company also restored the historic Bar Harbor Club and significantly upgraded the adjacent Harborside Hotel & Marina in Bar Harbor, Maine. Ocean Properties also owns and operates Sunset Key Resort in Key West Florida (also on the "best hotels in the world" lists) and The Latham Hotel, a historic downtown property in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, now undergoing renovation.

The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel has operated continuously since the opening of the Dix House, just after the Civil War. The original inn was named for the town's first landowner, Colonel Timothy Dix, a hero of the American Revolution, who died in the War of 1812. In 1895, a wealthy Philadelphia industrialist, Henry S. Hale, purchased the Dix House and renamed it The Balsams. Hale steadily expanded and enhanced the facilities. By 1918 he had completed the Hampshire House, an addition that doubled the overnight capacity of the resort to 400 guests, still its current capacity. The Balsams is an all-inclusive resort with its own 16-trail alpine ski area, two golf courses, a heated outdoor pool and swimming in its own Lake Gloriette, and a mountain bike and Nature Center accessing miles of hiking trails.