Ritz-Carlton at Northstar sold

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The 170-room Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe and an adjacent 3.4 acre parcel are being purchased by Braemar Hotels & Resorts, Inc for $120 million. The plot of vacant land will be used for a luxury residential townhome development.

The acquisition is expected to close between December 12, 2018 and January 15, 2019.

"The acquisition of the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe is an opportunity for us to acquire an iconic and irreplaceable luxury resort property with a premier location on the Northstar ski mountain in the world-famous Lake Tahoe area," said Richard J. Stockton, Braemar's President, and Chief Executive Officer. "This property fits perfectly with our strategy of owning luxury hotels and resorts and further diversifies our portfolio while also increasing the overall RevPAR of our portfolio, which is already the highest among our hotel REIT peers. This will be the third Ritz-Carlton in our portfolio, and with the strong market fundamentals in the Northern California area along with our proven ability to work with Ritz-Carlton to maximize property level performance, we are excited about the future prospects for this iconic property."

Located in the North Lake Tahoe area, the Property is situated mid-mountain at the Northstar Ski Area. With its premier location, luxury brand affiliation, and world-class amenities, the Ritz Tahoe is positioned as the leading resort in one of the country's most popular tourist destinations.

The $120M sales tag includes $103.4M for the hotel ($608,000 per key), $8.4M for the adjacent parcel, and $8.2M for Capital Reserves. During the past year the hotel has had 67 percent occupancy with an average daily rate of $556.51.

The Ritz Tahoe was built in 2009 and has 170 luxurious and spacious rooms, including 17 suites. The resort also offers an array of amenities, including ski-in/ski-out access, an ultra-luxury Lake Club on the shore of Lake Tahoe, a 17,000 sq. ft. a full-service spa, six food and beverage outlets, including the acclaimed Manzanita restaurant, over 37,000 sq. ft. of flexible indoor/outdoor meeting space, two outdoor pools, state-of-the-art fitness club and yoga studio, and the Ritz Kids Club. The Property is in excellent physical condition after having over $18 million spent for capital improvements during the past few years. Post-closing, the property will continue to be managed by Ritz-Carlton.