Aston Waikiki Beach is for sale

Posted on: Friday, March 25, 2005

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel, which recently underwent a $30 million renovation, is being offered for sale.

The Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel is the former Hawaiian Waikiki Beach Hotel. Present owner Leucadia National Corp. bought the property in 2001 at a foreclosure sale and extensively remodeled it.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Local brokerage firm MW Commercial Real Estate and Secured Capital Corp. has been soliciting offers to buy the 716-room property, which is owned by New York-based Leucadia National Corp.

The Kalakaua Avenue hotel, formerly the Hawaiian Waikiki Beach Hotel, was acquired by Leucadia from previous owner Otaka Inc. in June 2001 at a foreclosure auction after purchasing the hotel's mortgage. Aston Hotels & Resorts took over management in July 2001.

The hotel completed its 16-month renovation — including all of the guest rooms, public and retail areas, restaurants and the hotel's exterior — in November 2002 and was renamed the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel. The property includes Tiki's Grill & Bar and Wolfgang Puck Express.

The offering includes a leasehold interest in the hotel's 644-room main tower and a fee-simple interest in the 72-room mauka tower. A buyer also would have the opportunity to contract with a new hotel management company and rebrand the property.

MW Commercial Real Estate declined to comment. Leucadia officials could not be reached.

Industry experts expect the hotel to sell, even though a large portion of the property is leasehold.

"Leasehold's always an issue," said Doug Pothul, senior associate with real-estate brokerage firm Marcus & Millichap. "It narrows the pool of buyers who are willing to invest in an asset, but with the market as strong as it is and capital as abundant as it is, they won't have any problem selling the property."

He said it's no surprise that the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel is for sale. "This is what Leucadia does," Pothul said. "Their plan was always to come in, buy it right, renovate and then sell at the top of the market."

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 535-2470.

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