Starwood will sell a Paris hotel to a Saudi prince

Starwood will sell a Paris hotel to a Saudi prince

The legendary Hotel de Crillon, seems, to soon change the owner. One of the largest hotel holdings in the world, the American company Starwood, plans to sell it to a hotel owned by an investor from Saudi Arabia.

As noted by a French edition Le Figaro, the owner of the hotel can be possibly one of the members of the royal family of Saudi Arabia. The transaction value is expected to reach over 250 million euros.

One of the most famous hotels in Paris, Hotel de Crillon, was built in 1758 during the reign of French King Louis XV. The hotel is located at the very beginning of the famous Champs Elysees. Hotel de Crillon is one of the oldest luxury hotels in the world. The hotel has 103 rooms and 44 suites. Here are annually held famous all over Paris charity balls, which are called “Debutants balls”.

It is worth noting that the fate of the Hotel de Crillon was unclear until recently. Originally it was supposed that the buyer will be JJW Hotels & Resorts – a hotel company established with the participation of the Saudi capital. The sides seemed to come to an agreement. However, in April 2010, the Paris Court granted the petition of Starwood, according to which the JJW Hotels & Resorts company was supposed to pay the applicant 100 million euros for the abandonment of the transaction.
Until recently as a potential buyer of the hotel acted the oldest hotel chain in Europe - Kempinski. The news of the re-sale of the hotel to the Saudi investors became a surprise for many players of the market.

If the hotel will become the property of the royal family of Saudi Arabia, an amount of 250 million euro promises to be not final. The new owner will have to spend at least another 100 million euros for the reconstruction of the hotel.

Starwood owned the hotel since 2005, when it was able to buy the hotel from a wine magnate Tattinger. Starwood refrained from commenting on the possible sale of the hotel.

Date: 10/11/2010