LAGUNA BEACH : Japanese Company Buys Inn at Laguna

A major Japanese insurance company has acquired the Inn at Laguna for an estimated $20 million in cash.

Sunfolio Inn Inc., a Laguna Beach subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sunway Inc., acquired the 70-room, five-story hotel in September, according to Phillip H. Wilhelm, a partner at Huron Partners, the Chicago real estate investment firm that previously owned the property.

The acquisition is an expensive investment for Sunfolio, considering that the limited-service inn does not have a restaurant or a bar.

Essentially, Sunway, the real estate arm of Asahi Life Insurance Co., spent about $286,000 for each room.

Last year, Tokyo developer Pacific Islandia Resort Inc. purchased the 500-room Sheraton-Anaheim Hotel for about $35 million, or about $70,000 per room.

One valuable feature of the Inn at Laguna is that 52 of its rooms have a full ocean view, as does its swimming pool and Jacuzzi.

More important, the hotel is located just two blocks from the town center of Laguna Beach. The closest major hotel, about 7 miles away, is the posh, 393-room Ritz-Carlton hotel in Dana Point.

According to Satoru Yoshida, a Sunway executive who oversaw the purchase, this is the first of several acquisitions for Sunfolio in Orange County.

“We’re expected to acquire other properties in the future,” he said. “It could be an office building, an apartment complex or a commercial property--it doesn’t matter as long as it is a good property for future investment.”

Adrianne Beck retained her position as manager of the Inn at Laguna, which has 31 employees.

Huron Partners, which bought the property for $11.97 million in December, 1988, spent several million dollars renovating the hotel before selling it.

Before the sale, daily room rates ranged from $99 to $199. Since then, prices have gone up to $139 to $299 per day.