St. Regis Monarch Beach gets new owner [Los Angeles Times]

The deal was larger than some observers had expected. Last summer, as the hotel industry was sent reeling by declining occupancy and room rates, consultant Alan X. Reay of Atlas Hospitality Group in Costa Mesa had said the St. Regis was probably not worth much more than $100 million.

The new owners say the St. Regis is now in a better position to compete.

"The bottom line is that this hotel had too much debt on it and otherwise is a perfectly viable, successful and amazing property," said Craig Wrench, chief executive of Washington Holdings.

As California's only five-star, five-diamond coastal resort with a full golf course, the St. Regis is "a special property," said hotel industry investment banker Don Wise of Johnson Capital. "It just got clobbered with so may ill effects of the economy that debt became problematic."

The St. Regis was designed to get about 70% of its business from meetings and 30% from leisure travelers, Wise said. The collapse of the corporate meetings travel market has been devastating to the St. Regis and nearby resorts such as the Montage, Ritz-Carlton and Pelican Hill, Wise said.

The approach of vacation season offers a glimmer of hope for resort operators, Wise said.

Washington Holdings will invest in upgrades at the hotel, starting with the golf course, Wrench said. "We anticipate giving it some tender loving care. The hotel itself is in fabulous shape."

The hotel will continue to be operated as a St. Regis by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., Wrench said. He hopes that with the reduction of debt the hotel can be financially self-sustaining until the lodging industry improves.

"We're still in a troubled economy," Wrench said, "and we need another six to 12 months or maybe 18 months of recovery to be back where we need to be."

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