Marriott selected to manage upgraded Yacht Harbor Tower
The hotel's owner is spending $33 million to completely renovate the Ilikai neighbor
Marriott Hotel Services Inc. has agreed to be the new operator of the Yacht Harbor Tower adjacent to the famed Ilikai hotel in Waikiki.
The Maryland-based hotel operator signed a management agreement in July with San Diego-based owner eRealty Cos., which is spending more than $30 million on a top-to-bottom makeover to convert the tower into a luxury hotel.
"It's an important milestone in going forward and opening a hotel," said Thomas Marder, a Marriott spokesman. "Progress has been made and there has been a level of accord that has been reached, but work on all facets related to it continue."
He wouldn't specify an opening date or flag for the new luxury property expected to have 350 rooms priced at more than $300 per night.
ERealty's managing partner, Ed Bushor, earlier told the Star-Bulletin that he expects the refurbished hotel to reopen on Jan. 1. Bushor didn't return calls for comment.
The hotel was scheduled to reopen this summer, but additional improvements added to renovation plans affected the construction timeline and pushed project costs to $33 million from $30 million, he earlier said.
Marriott International's luxury brands include Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott and Edition, its new lifestyle boutique brand that has yet to debut.
Marriott operates about a dozen properties in Hawaii and has more than 3,000 hotels in nearly 70 countries in its portfolio. Its properties include the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa at Ko Olina and Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club, a vacation-ownership resort.
ERealty acquired the 360-room Yacht Harbor Tower, which is physically attached to the Ilikai, in July 2006 for more than $100 million from Anekona LLC, owned by Big Island developer Brian Anderson. The tower was shut down shortly after the purchase and about 170 workers were laid off.
Anderson acquired both properties for $218 million with ambitious plans to reposition the Ilikai into an upscale condominium hotel. To make the transaction feasible, he also sold the ballroom and central swimming pool to eRealty, a move that has caused angst among longtime Ilikai condominium owners who previously used those amenities.
As a condition of the Yacht Harbor Tower's sale, Anderson was responsible for removing its tenants, including Tanaka of Tokyo and Angel Chapel By the Sea, which later sued Anekona and eRealty after claiming to lose significant money when the tower was closed for renovations.
Since then, Anderson has been slapped with a number of lawsuits, including a $72.6 million foreclosure on the Ilikai filed last month by New York-based iStar FM Loans LLC.