Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel Sold for $116M, While Royal St. Charles Goes for $10M

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel

Two French Quarter hotels have been traded since 2014 kicked off, showing how sizzling hot the New Orleans hospitality market is.

According to Canal Street Beat, Starwood Capital Group shelled out $116.6 million for the 693-key Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel. The property was acquired from LNR Partners, special servicer for its $73.4 million CMBS loan from 2005. The property, appraised at of $108 million roughly six months ago, spent some time on the market in 2013 but was withdrawn after no buyers emerged. Prior to being put up for sale again, the asset was renovated. The property, currently operated by Intercontinental Hotels Group on a short-term lease, used to be made up of two distinct hotels: the 191-room Alexa tower, built in 1900 and redeveloped in 2002, and the 502-key Astor Crowne Plaza, developed in 2002 by Decatur Hotels, a previous owner of both assets.

Located on the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets, the 693-key hotel is right in the heart of the French Quarter, a highly desirable location. It boasts 12,000 square feet of grade-level retail space and 32,000 square feet of meeting space in 13 meeting rooms, with the Astor Ballroom offering 5,733 square feet. Further amenities include a fitness center, outdoor pool, business center, 24-hour lounge and onsite restaurant: the Dickie Brennan-run Bourbon House Restaurant.

In other hospitality news, the 143-key Royal St. Charles has also been sold, picked up by Lowe Enterprises Investors (LEI) on behalf of an investment client.  The property was put under the management of Destination Hotels & Resorts, but will continue to operate as an independent boutique hotel. According to Canal Street Beat, the property was acquired from California-based investment group Clearview Capital for $10.1 million, a price that included the assumption of an $8.7 million loan from U.S. Bank.

Located at 135 St. Charles St., between the French Quarter and the New Orleans Convention Center, the 10-story hotel was previously the Southern Federal Savings Bank. According to a news release, the hotel was converted from office to hotel in 2000, but its original bank vault was kept intact. The Royal St. Charles most recently underwent a renovation in 2012, when 2,610 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center as well as an award-winning PJ’s Coffee & Café were added.  Other amenities include a fitness center, valet parking and easy access to the St. Charles Streetcar Line.

Image courtesy of Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel – New Orleans via Facebook