SAN ANTONIO—Wheelock Street Capital has acquired Hotel Contessa, a 265-room, all-suite luxury, independent hotel in San Antonio.
The 12-story hotel, built in 2005, benefits from its central location along San Antonio’s Riverwalk with direct access to many of the city’s top cultural destinations, including The Alamo, San Antonio’s Central Business District and the recently expanded Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. The property has 10,000 sq. ft. of function space, a rooftop pool, a full-service restaurant and bar opening directly onto the Riverwalk and a full-service spa. Wheelock plans to complete a full renovation of the ground floor restaurant and bar in the coming months. The hotel currently operates independent of a national brand affiliation and maintains an outsized transient base in one of the nation’s premier drive-to leisure markets.
HEI Hotels & Resorts, a national hotel operator with an existing presence in San Antonio, will assume management responsibilities under Wheelock’s ownership.
The acquisition marks Wheelock’s first hotel purchase in the San Antonio market and first since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The property’s historically strong performance, superb location and superior quality in a top leisure-driven market was a perfect match with our current acquisition criteria and provided us the conviction to execute during an uncertain time in the capital markets,” stated Tim Hodes, principal/director of hotel investments for Wheelock Street Capital. “We look forward to achieving success at another quality asset with our partners at HEI.”
Hodges Ward Elliott (“HWE”) arranged the sale of Hotel Contessa and advised Wheelock on the financing structure for the acquisition.