Private equity real estate firm Henderson Park made a $705 million hotel buy in Phoenix, a city the firm’s CEO, Nick Weber, calls “one of the country’s premier hospitality markets.”
London-based Henderson Park acquired the newly refurbished Arizona Biltmore resort from global investor Blackstone Real Estate, the firm announced Monday. Morgan Stanley, along with Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan, financed the deal, providing a $460 million commercial mortgage loan.
Originally built in 1929, the luxury property has hosted celebrities including Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra. The 705-key hotel underwent a $70 million repositioning that wrapped in 2021, but much of its historic design and character was retained, according to Virserius Studio, which handled interior design on the project.
Set on 39 acres, the resort offers more than 200,000 square feet of meeting space, seven swimming pools, multiple food and beverage outlets and a 28,000-square-foot spa.
According to Henderson Park, the property’s recent renovations — underpinned by “growing demand” in the market — have positioned the hotel to broadly appeal to “premier leisure, corporate and group guests.”
Phoenix was a leader of group business recovery in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Knowland and Amadeus’ Hospitality Group and Business Performance Index.
Henderson Park’s Weber said the acquisition presented “a rare and compelling opportunity” to grow portfolio scale in one the top hospitality markets in the U.S.
Other domestic hotel assets in Henderson Park’s portfolio include Naples Grande in Florida; La Quinta in Palm Springs, California; and The Salamander D.C. Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Arizona Biltmore previously operated under Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria brand but has transitioned to the hotel company’s LXR Hotels & Resorts brand. Pyramid Global Hospitality will serve as the property manager going forward.
