Acquired in a $6.5 billion deal this week, Hotel del Coronado was sold to Chinese-based Anbang Insurance Group along with 16 other properties under the Strategic Hotels & Resorts brand. This comes just three months after Blackstone Group LP purchased the Strategic brand for around $450 million.
The 128-year-old property, with its iconic red turret roof, was once the largest resort in the world when it opened in 1888. Over the years, the Del has hosted presidents, celebrities and royalty at its oceanfront location. There is no word yet on how this will affect the day-to-day operations of the hotel and whether guests can expect to see major changes to the beloved property.
Anbang Insurance Group has been investing in US commercial real estate over the past couple of years, and boasts more than $114 billion in assets according to Fortune. In 2014, the group purchased Hilton’s flagship Waldorf Astoria in New York City for $1.95 billion and this most recent buy adds thousands more rooms to their portfolio. Yesterday, the group reportedly also put a $14 million takeover bid in to purchase Starwood Hotels & Resorts which has been in talks with Marriott International to merge as the world’s largest hotel company.
