The excitement over the 2010 Winter Olympics spilled over into Vancouver‘s Pan Pacific Hotel yesterday where 172 suites for the upcoming Hilton Whistler Resort sold in only five hours.

The frenzied buying for suites ranging from $249,000 to $1.5 million meant a unit was sold every 105 seconds. About $90 million worth was sold during the day.

“It really did exceed my expectations,” said John Ryan of Whist-ler Real Estate. “People came to buy one suite and ended up buying two.”

An average suite was 800 square feet, with one bedroom and two bathrooms. Sales were registered on a seven-metre electronic board that made a ding sound on each sale. “My favourite noise,” said Ryan. Only 13 suites went unsold.

The existing Delta Whistler Resort will be changed into the Hilton by Dec. 1. Ryan said excitement for the Olympics, plus the Hilton’s prime location — in the village at the bottom of both mountains — fuelled sales.

The project is being developed by WW Hotels (Whistler) Limited Partnership. rshaw@png.canwest.com