Pacifica Buys Two Marina Hotels
The resurgence of Marina del Rey as a destination for locals and visitors got a potential boost Friday with the news that two of its aging hotels had been acquired and would undergo improvements.
Santa Barbara-based hotelier Pacifica Hotel Co. announced it had bought the Marina del Rey Hotel and the nearby Marina International Hotel & Bungalows from Al Anwa USA Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The hotels are on land leased from Los Angeles County.
The buyers plan to spend millions of dollars on upgrades intended to appeal to Marina visitors attracted by county redevelopment plans already underway. Those plans call for about $1.5 billion worth of improvements to Marina properties, including upgraded apartments, shopping centers and boat slips.
Pacifica hopes to lure locals and tourists by resurrecting the empty bar and restaurant building in front of the Marina del Rey Hotel that was a hot spot for decades as Don the Beachcomber’s.
“We believe Marina del Rey is entering a new and exciting phase that will see it become a major stand-alone destination for those visiting Southern California and for those who already live there,” said Pacifica Executive Vice President John Beazley.
Pacifica intends to turn the 157-room Marina del Rey Hotel on Bali Way into a four-star resort and make the 135-unit Marina International on Admiralty Way into a high-three-star hotel “as soon as possible,” said spokeswoman Lori Keller.
Pacifica’s planned strategy of upgrading the 1960s-vintage hotels and raising room rates makes sense to hotel industry observers, who said Pacifica’s timing was probably right.
Hotels on the California coast have been thriving, said Newport Beach investment banker Don Wise, and “Marina del Rey could be the best of all possible worlds. They could get business travelers during the week and leisure guests on weekends.”
Marina hotels could appeal to young business travelers and visitors who don’t want to pay for Santa Monica’s best hotels, said Wise, president of Resorts, Marinas & Vineyards Inc.
Said Bruce Baltin of PKF Consulting, “The marina is slowly going through a desperately needed upgrade, and those hotels are obviously well located” to benefit from it.
Average daily hotel occupancy in the Marina is healthy at about 80%, Baltin said.
Pacifica owns 21 hotels in California, including the Carlyle Inn near Beverly Hills. Seller Al Anwa is controlled by Sheik Abdul Aziz bin Ibrahim al Ibrahim of Saudi Arabia.
