San Clemente-based hotel owner Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. has acquired the Royal Palm hotel in Miami Beach.
The company, which owns all or part of 30 hotels, bought the 409-room hotel for $126 million at a foreclosure auction.
The company plans to renovate the beachfront hotel.
The sale is expected to close by the end of the quarter.
Sunstone has been seeking out hotel buys in the past several months.
“We seek unique opportunities to acquire exceptionally well-located hotel real estate at discount valuations,” said Art Buser, chief executive at Sunstone. “Additionally we seek to acquire assets where we may create meaningful value via comprehensive renovation and repositioning programs.”
Earlier this month, Sunstone made a bid to acquire on the 1,625-room Manchester Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego.
Sunstone is in talks with hotel developer Doug Manchester, who owns the Grand Hyatt and has been looking to sell his shares in the hotel.
Manchester is expected to get a minority stake in Sunstone if the company ends up buying the hotel.
The San Diego Unified Port District, which serves as the Grand Hyatt’s landlord, is expected to take up the request in September.
Sunstone and others were hard hit during the downturn as tumbling occupancy and room rates hurt bottom lines. The company turned over a handful of hotels to lenders in the past year or so.
