Montage Laguna Beach

Strategic Hotels & Resorts Buys Luxury Resort in Laguna Beach for $360M

by John Nelson

LAGUNA BEACH, CALIF. — Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: BEE), a hotel owner and management REIT based in Chicago, has purchased a luxury resort in Laguna Beach for $360 million.

Strategic Hotels purchased Montage Laguna Beach from an affiliate of Ohana Real Estate Investors LLC (OREI), a hotel and resort investment and development firm.

“We are thrilled to acquire Montage Laguna Beach, a truly iconic luxury hotel located on one of the best resort settings in the continental United States. The acquisition is consistent with our strategy of expanding our best-in-class portfolio of irreplaceable and world-class luxury hotels located in North America,” says Raymond Gellein, chairman and CEO of Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. “The Southern California market generally, and the coastal Orange County market specifically, have been among the highest-rated markets in the country and are poised to continue their strong growth given the diverse set of demand drivers and no competitive supply in the current pipeline as the result of extremely high barriers to entry.”

The 250-key Montage Laguna Beach opened in 2003 and features views of the Pacific Ocean, 16,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, a 20,000-square-foot spa and several on-site dining and beverage options.

JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality division represented Ohana Real Estate Investors in the transaction. Robert Webster and Tim Southard led the JLL team on the transaction, along with John Strauss. JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality team has brokered more than $48 billion in hotel/lodging sales in the past five years.

Greenberg Traurig LLP and Paul Hastings LLP acted as legal advisors for Strategic Hotels in the transaction, and Dentons counseled OREI.

Based in Redwood City, Calif., OREI owns several hotel and lodging assets on the West Coast, including Montage Beverly Hills, Montage Deer Valley and the Travelodge Laguna Beach. The company is also currently developing hospitality assets such as Maravilla Los Cabos, Hanalei Plantation Resort and Saggio Hills.

Strategic Hotels & Resorts has ownership interests in 18 upscale hotels and resorts in the United States and Europe, including the Four Seasons in Jackson Hole, Wyo.; Loews Santa Monica Beach in Santa Monica, Calif.; Marriott Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany; Intercontinental Miami in Miami; and the JW Marriott Essex House in New York City.

Strategic Hotels’ stock price closed at $13.42 per share on Friday, Jan. 30, up from $8.99 per share at this time last year.

— John Nelson

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