CBRE Arranges Sale of Caribbean Resorts
DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners sold the assets to Wind Creek Hospitality, the principal gaming and hospitality enterprise of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Alabama’s only federally recognized tribal entity.
By Timea Papp
CBRE brokered the sale of the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino and the Renaissance Curaçao Resort Casino in the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curaçao. DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity real estate firm with offices in Los Angeles and Hong Kong, sold the assets to an affiliate of Wind Creek Hospitality, a gaming and hospitality enterprise based in Atmore, Ala.
Located at 82 L. G. Smith Blvd. in Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba, the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino encompasses 556 hotel rooms, two casinos and approximately 150,000 square feet of retail outlets in the Renaissance Mall and Seaport Marketplace. Additionally, the resort features a full-service spa, pool, fitness center and includes Renaissance Island, offering guests the only private island experience in Aruba.
UNESCO World Heritage site
The Renaissance Curaçao Resort & Casino is located at Baden Powellweg 1 Willemstad in Curaçao and boasts a total of 237 rooms, a 23,000-square-foot casino, multiple food and beverage venues, fitness center, pool and the 109,000-square-foot Rif Fort Mall. The property is situated on Willemstad’s historic waterfront and connected to the Rif Fort, a 19th-century landmark and UNESCO World Heritage site.
The CBRE Hotels team of Senior Vice President Christian Charre, Vice Presidents Paul Weimer and Bradley Burwell, Managing Director Andy Wimsatt and Executive Vice President Mark Owens represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer, Wind Creek Hospitality, is the principal gaming and hospitality enterprise of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Alabama’s only federally recognized tribal entity.
“This was a large and complex transaction, since both properties included several operating components in addition to hospitality. This required us to find a non-traditional buyer who was comfortable with gaming, retail, timeshare and hospitality, and able to close in two foreign jurisdictions,” said Weimer, in prepared remarks.
Earlier this year, CBRE Hotels completed the sale of the majority interest in a 369-unit luxury resort in Panama City’s Punta Pacifica neighborhood. Newland International Properties Corp. sold the stake to Ithaca Capital Investments in a $24.5 million deal.
Images courtesy of CBRE/Marriott
