NEWPORT, RI— Amstar Group, LLC and Davidson Hotel Co. have partnered in the purchase of the 264-room Hyatt Regency Newport Hotel & Spa. H.E. Newport Equities, LLC, an affiliate of Global Hyatt Corp., sold the hotel to the two firms and was advised by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels in the deal. The price was not disclosed. Located on Goat Island, which is one half mile from downtown Newport, the hotel will remain as a Hyatt and will be operated by Davidson. Furthermore, Davidson and Amstar will now spend $23 million on property renovations. Renovation plans call for a major upgrade to the hotel’s entrance, a new lobby, a new signature restaurant, a new bar and lounge concept and enhancements to all guestrooms. The hotel’s conference center and meeting space will also be upgraded and reconfigured. In the end, there will be 25,000 sf of meeting and pre-function space and an additional 40,000 sf of outdoor space that overlooks the Newport marina. Meanwhile, the hotel’s Stillwater Spa will also be renovated. During the past 15 months, Amstar and Davidson have invested $250 million in hotels through their partnership. In this deal, they closed “all cash” and within a short period of time.
