London-based private equity real estate manager Henderson Park bought the 705-key Arizona Biltmore, LXR Hotels & Resorts, for $705 million.
CoStar data shows the rumored sale is official, citing a special warranty deed dated May 8 in New York County and an affidavit of property value in Maricopa County, Arizona. The seller is BRE Hotels & Resorts, a Blackstone fund-owned hospitality platform.
As of press time, neither Henderson Park nor BRE Hotels & Resorts responded to a request for comment.
CoStar data shows the resort last changed hands in April 2018 when BRE Hotels & Resorts bought it as part of a three-property portfolio from Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Real Estate with a total sales price of $1.64 billion. Public records show the Arizona Biltmore’s individual price was $403.4 million, but it did not include the two 18-hole golf courses adjacent to the hotel. The other hotels in the portfolio sale were the La Quinta Resort & Golf in La Quinta, California, and the Grand Wailea Resort & Spa in Wailea, Hawaii.
GIC bought it in a $1.46 billion, four-property portfolio deal in 2013, acquiring it from Paulson & Co. All hotels in the portfolio were Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts properties.
The Arizona Biltmore opened Feb. 23, 1929. It was designed by Albert Chase McArthur, who studied under architect Frank Lloyd Wright from 1907 to 1909. The resort was a popular destination for presidents, dignitaries, celebrities and other socialites through the following decades.
The property has undergone several expansions and renovations. Most recently, it received a property-wide update that completed in 2021.
The Arizona Biltmore currently sits on 39 acres and offers 251 guestrooms, 41 cottages, 56 villas, 204 balcony patio rooms, 125 firepit rooms, 77 Citrus Club rooms, 53 poolside rooms and 20 accessible rooms. A press kit notes some of these totals are inclusive of other room types.