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Life House secures $100m equity to acquire more hotels
New York boutique hotel company, Life House, has secured a total of $100 million in equity from Boston-based Blue Flag Partners. Blue Flag’s investment will fund the acquisition of seven to 10 hotels in an exclusive partnership with Life House.
The two companies are targeting markets such as Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts; Newport, Rhode Island; and Aspen, Colorado; and smaller boutique properties with 50-125 keys. Blue Flag will own the properties and Life House will design and operate them.
Former North Carolina hospital will transform to a hotel
Phase one of the Dorothea Dix Park development is currently underway in Raleigh, North Carolina, and plans of the development include the transformation of a former psychiatric hospital building into a boutique hotel, according to Arch Daily.
The project also aims to provide an arts space, a community incubator, sports courts and botanic gardens.
Waikiki boutique hotel unveils wellness-centered redesign
Renew, a boutique hotel located in Honolulu’s Waikiki neighborhood, has unveiled a redesign and rebrand focused on local wellness. Formerly Hotel Renew, the 72-key hotel features modernized guestrooms, corridors, lobby and lobby bar, along with new amenities and experiences “designed to connect guests to the local wellness community.”
“We’re setting out to create a new chapter of Hawaii tourism by developing hotels that only feature localized experiences,” Ben Rafter, CEO of OLS Hotels and Resorts, which manages the hotel, said in a news release. “We’re catering to the next generation of Hawaii visitors who seek one-of-a-kind tailored experiences that they can only get when staying at a boutique property like Renew.”
Openings, management, people on the move
- The Current, a 180-room hotel under the Marriott Autograph collection, opened mid-July in Tampa, Florida. The hotel features a rooftop lounge.
- Braemar Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of the Notary Hotel in downtown Philadelphia, under Marriott International’s Autograph Collection. The hotel was formerly a Courtyard by Marriott.
- Renovations of The Harborview hotel in Port Washington, Wisconsin, are now complete. Wisconsin-based S&L Hospitality has owned and operated the property for 21 years.
- Pebblebrook Hotel Trust closed on the sale of the 132-room Hotel Amarano Burbank in Los Angeles for a total of $72.9 million.
- Pebblebrook also closed on the sale of the 137-room Rouge Hotel in Washington, D.C., for $42 million.
- Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia, has appointed Joel Paige as the new COO. Paige has more than 25 years’ experience of managing resort destinations.
Compiled by Dana Miller.