Transamerica to Sell Posh Ventana Inn to Texas REIT

Transamerica Corp. on Friday said it has agreed to sell the Ventana Inn, an exclusive Big Sur resort popular with Hollywood executives and entertainers, to a Texas real estate investment trust.

The sales price was not disclosed, but one of the losing bidders estimated that Fort Worth-based Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. paid in excess of $30 million for the 64-room resort.

The Ventana Inn, which was originally developed in the 1970s, is one of the few hotels in Big Sur, where rugged forests and a scenic coastline have long made the area a popular vacation destination. Ventana is as well-known for its clothing-optional saunas and hot tubs as for its spectacular, forested site with views of the Pacific Ocean. Rates for rooms and separate cabins start in the $200 range.

“It has always had kind of a Hollywood connection,” said Myles Williams, who bid on the resort and owns the rival Post Ranch Inn across California 1 from Ventana. “It’s quite a desirable property.”

Transamerica, the San Francisco-based financial services firm, said the Ventana Inn did not fit into core businesses. The company has owned Ventana since 1980.

“We thought it would make a desirable asset for a buyer, and this was an opportune time to sell it,” said Transamerica spokesman Bill McClave. The sale is expected to be completed before the end of the year.

Officials at Crescent Real Estate, which owns the posh Sonoma Mission Inn north of San Francisco, could not be reached for comment.

Some loyal Ventana guests said they hope that Crescent Real Estate retains the resort’s casual atmosphere, where high-powered entertainers often seek anonymity.

“It’s common to see show-business people, but I have never once seen anyone gawking,” said Allan Parachini, vice president at the Los Angeles-based California Community Foundation.