Caribbean fund buys Aruba hotel for $237m

The buyers, who include CPG, Goldman Sachs and Perry Capital, may intend to renovate the property.

The Caribbean Real Estate Opportunity Fund, which counts the Caribbean Property Group (CPG), Goldman Sachs and Perry Real Estate Partners among its investors, has acquired the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino for $237 million (€185 million) from Plant Hotel NV.

Marriott will continue to manage the property under a long-term agreement. The four-star 413-room resort boasts the largest guest rooms on the island, a 17,000-square-foot casino and 10,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space.

The buyers may renovate the resort, according to a statement released by Sonnenblick Goldman, the real estate investment bank that advised Plant Hotel. The bank also called Aruba an attractive investment market thanks to high barriers to entry, good weather, political stability, strong asset performance and easy access to air travel.

Aruba is the sixth most popular island resort location in the world, according to Travel + Leisure and hosted more than 700,000 visitors last year.

CPG’s current hotel assets include The Ritz-Carlton San Juan Hotel, Spa and Casino and the Radisson Ambassador Hotel and Casino.

CPG is the managing partner in the $500-million Caribbean Real Estate Opportunity Fund I, which targets investments in hotels, casinos, retail centers and warehouses in the Caribbean and Central America.