SARASOTA, Fla.
Dallas-based Ashford Hospitality Prime announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota for $171 million. The sale is expected to close in April 2018.
The 266-room luxury property, located on Sarasota Bay in downtown Sarasota, Fla., offers 29,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, two outdoor pools, a 26,000-square-foot Beach Club with 410 feet of beachfront, the 15,000-square-foot Ritz-Carlton Spa Club, eight food and beverage outlets, and the private, 18-hole Tom Fazio-designed Golf Club. Ashford said the property will continue to be managed by Ritz-Carlton.
"The acquisition of The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota is an opportunity for us to acquire a luxury resort property with a premier location in the upscale and growing Sarasota market," said Richard J. Stockton, Ashford Prime's president and CEO. “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."
According to Ashford Hospitality Prime, the property, which opened in 2001, has been the beneficiary of more than $21 million in capital improvements over the past few years.
The opening of the hotel was considered a major development for Sarasota’s hospitality industry, ushering in ancillary development such as condominium units, retail and other tourism-related businesses.
The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota has received the following awards:
- AAA Five Diamond Lodging Award
- Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star Award: Hotel
- Conde Nast Traveler: Reader's Choice Award
- Travel + Leisure (website): America's Best Beach Hotels
- Travel + Leisure Reader's Survey: World's Best Hotels
- Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star Award: The Ritz Carlton Spa
- Travel + Leisure: World's Best Spas
- Zagat: America's Top Golf Courses
Other hotels in the Ashford Hospitality Prime portfolio include:
- Marriott Seattle Waterfront Hotel, Seattle
- Renaissance Tampa Hotel, Tampa, Fla.
- Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines Hotel, La Jolla, Calif.
- Capital Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C.
- Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile, Chicago
- Pier House Resort & Spa, Key West, Fla.
- Courtyard San Francisco Downtown Hotel, San Francisco
- Courtyard Philadelphia Downtown Hotel, Philadelphia
- Bardessono Hotel and Spa, Yountville, Calif.
- Hotel Yountville, Yountville, Calif.
- The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas
- Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa, Beaver Creek, Colo.
