The James brand portfolio just got bigger by one. The news from South Beach is that KSL Capital Partners, with investments in such properties as La Costa and The Homestead, has acquired the Royal Palm Hotel from Sunstone Hotel Investors for $130 million. The hotel will undergo major renovations and re-debut as a the James Royal Palm. The James brand currently consists of two hotels, one in Chicago and one in New York.
The 409-room hotel was bought by Sunstone just last August for $117 million. Word is the hotel will undergo $42 million in renovations to guest rooms, public spaces and outdoor areas. The hotel will have 179 guest rooms, 211 studios and suites and a new spa and children’s club, according to the Miami Herald. Renovations are expected to be finished in the fall of 2012.
"You won’t even really recognize it except for the exterior itself," said the project’s interior designer Lauren Rottet, founding principal of Rottet Studio, to the Herald. "From the street, it will just look like we've taken it and made it beautiful."
Denihan Hospitality Group was brought in to manage the hotel.
Visit www.jameshotels.com.