Recent hotel and resort transactions include Geolo Capital selling Ventana Big Sur Resort in California, Ohana Real Estate Investors expanding its Texas portfolio and more.
Geolo Capital sells Ventana Big Sur Resort for $148M
Geolo Capital, the private equity investment arm of the John Pritzker family office, and its joint-venture partner Wanxiang America Real Estate, have sold Ventana Big Sur, an Alila Resort, in California to an affiliate of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation for $148 million. The transaction achieves a record $2.5 million per-key price for a North American resort, according to Geolo.
The sale marks Geolo’s successful roundtrip investment of the Ventana Big Sur resort, as well as its investment in the Alila brand—a company which Geolo acquired in 2014, attached to Ventana in 2017 and sold to Hyatt in 2018.
Originally developed in 1975, Ventana had a 40-year track record of operations. Geolo invested $23 million to complete a major renovation of the property, including updates to all 59 guestrooms. Safari-style camping tents were created in the resort’s century-old redwood grove, the Glass House Gallery was constructed and an underutilized parking lot was converted into an ocean meadow.
Ohana Real Estate Investors acquires two Texas properties
Ohana Real Estate Investors has acquired the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa, a 491-key resort located near Austin, TX, from an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. It has also purchased La Cantera Resort & Spa, a 496-key luxury resort located in San Antonio, from USAA Real Estate.
Set on 650 acres along the banks of Texas’ Colorado River between Austin and Bastrop, Hyatt Regency Lost Pines offers more than 36,000 sq. ft. of indoor meeting space and more than 276,000 sq. ft. of outdoor function space with pavilions and an amphitheater, as well as the Wolfdancer Golf Club, Spa Django, Crooked River Water Park and the Renegade Trailhead equestrian facility. The hotel also adjoins the 1,100-acre McKinney Roughs Nature Park.
Located at the highest elevation point in San Antonio on 550 acres, La Cantera Resort & Spa offers views of the Texas Hill Country and is near San Antonio attractions and culture. The original rustic, King Ranch-style interiors were refreshed in 2015 with extensive multimillion-dollar renovations.
La Cantera offers a variety of amenities including two championship golf courses; 12 dining venues; the 25,000-sq.-ft. Loma de Vida Spa & Wellness facility; six pools with private cabanas; and 34 villas located among the property’s tree groves. The Villas also feature a private pool and bar, and an indoor bar and market.
MCR purchases Home2 Suites by Hilton Evansville
MCR expanded its Midwest footprint with the acquisition of the 102-room Home2 Suites by Hilton Evansville in Indiana.
Located nearly equidistant from Louisville, St. Louis, Nashville and Indianapolis, the property is in the center point of the Midwest. Each suite in the hotel is equipped with a sleeper sofa and its own full kitchenette. Amenities include complimentary breakfast; a grill and firepit on an outdoor patio; a fitness center and an indoor pool.
The hotel is located directly across Interstate 69 from the Deaconess Gateway Medical Center, a 1.5-million-sq.-ft. medical campus. Deaconess Midtown Medical Center and Ascension St. Vincent hospitals are also nearby.
DSH Hotel Advisors arranges sale of Tampa-area Microtel
Dennis Hopper, managing principal, DSH Hotel Advisors, a national hotel brokerage and advisory firm headquartered in Tampa, FL, has closed on the sale of the Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham—Brooksville in Florida for an undisclosed price. Hopper represented the seller, L&H LLC, and the buyer, Aarush Hospitality LLC.
The sale represents another successful hotel transaction for DSH Hotel Advisors, a hotel brokerage firm that has gained significant market share in recent years, with more exclusively listed hotels in Florida than most hotel brokerage firms in the U.S., according to the company.
