Kimpton Hotels buys Canary Santa Barbara

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants bought the Canary Santa Barbara hotel and is looking for more Southern California inns to purchase, the company said.

No major changes are planned for the 97-room boutique hotel on West Carrillo Street in downtown Santa Barbara, said Joe Long, chief investment officer.

“The former owner’s vision is consistent with what we do,” Long said.

Kimpton favors highly designed, stylized hotels with chef-driven restaurants intended to appeal to local residents as well as travelers. The Canary has a Canary Islands theme, a restaurant and a rooftop lounge.

Kimpton paid $21 million for the Canary, according to Santa Barbara County property records.

Most hotel brands operate inns for third-party owners. San Francisco-based Kimpton is unusual in that it owns about 20% of the country’s more than 50 Kimpton hotels. Its private equity fund, which buys the buildings, invests mostly on behalf of college endowments, Long said.

Kimpton operates only one inn in Los Angeles County, the Hotel Palomar on Wilshire Boulevard near UCLA.

“Southern California really is, of all the markets in the country, our biggest target right now,” Long said. “It’s a high-profile market that can support the kind of properties we operate.”

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