Naples Grande Beach Resort sells for $248 million, 'seamless' transition touted

The Naples Grande Beach Resort has quietly changed hands.

Property records show the waterfront resort, along with its golf club and tennis center, traded for a total of $248 million.

The deal closed March 28. It involved three transactions.

The resort alone sold for $218.4 million. 

The golf club, including an 18-hole championship course, fetched $24.8 million, and the tennis center brought $4.8 million.

The seller? Northwood Hospitality, based in Denver Colorado, which acquired the property back in 2013 for a little more than $149 million as an investment.

The deeds, recorded last week, show two limited liability companies, with similar names, as the new owners.

HP-SSP Naples Golf owns the golf club and HP-SSP Naples Hotel owns the resort and tennis center.

The two LLCs incorporated in Florida late last year. They share the same address in Radnor, Pennsylvania — and the same manager, HP-SSP Naples Holdco. 

Turns out the buyer is a private equity real estate manager. 

A letter written to the resort's Premier Club members about the sale reveals the name of the new owners as Henderson Park (which explains the HP in the two LLCs).

The firm, based in London, has $13 billion in assets under management. Its portfolio is diversified, with holdings in the office, logistics, multifamily, residential, retail and hospitality sectors, including other golf clubs.

The company, founded in 2016, operates across Europe, with additional offices in Germany, Ireland and Luxembourg. It also has a location in New York, according to its website.

The letter to club members came from the golf club's general manager, and a vice president for Northwood. They said Northwood would continue to manage the hotel and golf club, with the same management team in place, so it would be "seamless."

"We will continue to ensure that all members are treated with a great golf, tennis and club experience throughout the transition," they stated.

When Northwood Hospitality purchased the resort, it carried the Waldorf Astoria flag.

The property operated as the Naples Grande Beach Resort for years before that — and Northwood saw the moniker as more fitting, reviving it.

Not long after acquiring the property, Northwood spent $18 million on a major overhaul, which included a grand redesign of all the rooms and suites and the addition of three new restaurants.

Previously:Naples beach resort makes grande transformation

From our archives:Waldorf Astoria sells

The upscale resort is at the end of Seagate Drive, opposite Pine Ridge Road, near U.S. 41, steps away from Clam Pass Park in North Naples. 

It opened in 1988 as the Registry Resort.

The hotel sits on 23 acres of waterfront, next to a nature preserve, with boardwalk access to the Gulf of Mexico.

There are 474 guest rooms, including 29 tower suites and 50 garden villas.

In addition to tennis and golf, the resort has multiple restaurants and bars, three heated outdoor pools with a 100-foot waterslide, a business center, a full-service luxury spa and a fitness center.

On top of that, it offers more than 83,000 square feet of flexible meeting space.

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A representative for the resort couldn't immediately be reached for comment about the sale.

Paul Beirnes, executive director of the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau, said he didn't know anything about the sale. 

"I have not heard any whispers about that," he said.

Beirnes did hear whispers about the recent sale of the smaller Inn of Naples, off U.S. 41 in North Naples. Property records show that deal closed on March 15, with a purchase price of more than $15.3 million.

The new owner is Mission Hill Hospitality, based in Denver. The company specializes in select service and extended stay hotel investing. 

The inn, with 99 rooms, is in the midst of a conversion to become part of Hilton's Tapestry Collection, described as “a gathering of original upscale hotels," for guests seeking reliability, value and one-of-a-kind experiences.

"That will be a nice addition," Beirnes said. "I came from Hilton corporate. Tapestry is a great asset to have. It takes in the fiber of the destination and it kind of really shines through in their building and their design." 

The previous owner, Dallas-based MCR, one of the largest hotel owner-operators in the country, purchased the boutique property for $12 million in 2020.

The inn, opened in 1986, continues to operate, with the transition to a Hilton property expected to be completed by summer.