Pebblebrook Hotel Trust over the weekend announced that it acquired the 257-room AAA Four Diamond Gurney’s Newport Resort & Marina in Newport, RI for $174 million.
Gurney’s Newport is a 10-acre waterside resort located on Goat Island in Newport. The independent resort offers unobstructed views of Narragansett Bay as well as Newport Harbor and the iconic Newport Bridge. Among the 257 guestrooms, there are 18 spacious suites; the resort also has 80,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space (including a waterside pavilion), a 22-slip marina, 3,000-square-foot spa with nine treatment rooms, and a historic lighthouse.
The resort contains a variety of waterside eateries, including Showfish Newport and The Pineapple Club, which serve healthy bites, locally sourced dishes and seasonal classics. There’s also a lobby bar, a grab-and-go coffee shop, a resort-style saltwater outdoor pool with cabanas, an indoor pool, a fitness center, and a seasonal ice-skating rink.
Known as “America’s First Resort” and the “Sailing Capital of the World,” Newport is just a one-and-a-half-hour drive from Boston and a thre-and-a-half-hour drive from New York City. This leisure destination has authentic historical sites, the famed Cliff Walk, the Newport Mansions, Ocean Drive, quaint shopping and waterside dining, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, yachting, sailing, fishing, golfing, beaches, and internationally acclaimed events such as the Newport Folk Festival.
Pebblebrook believes the overall opportunity is to reposition the property to a higher level, given its location and amenities. Potential improvements include fully renovating the guestrooms and guest bathrooms, upgrading the lobby, arrival experience and landscaping, refurbishing the restaurants and bars, adding a market, relocating/upgrading the spa, updating the Grand Ballroom, South Lawn, and outdoor pavilion spaces, and adding new guest activities and amenities. In addition, Pebblebrook has the right to purchase the marina in 2027. The resort will also become part of Curator Hotel & Resort Collection.
The acquisition of Gurney’s Newport brings the total number of properties in Pebblebrook’s portfolio to 55, including 13 drive-to, independent lifestyle resorts. Pebblebrook funded the acquisition with cash on hand and proceeds from its senior unsecured revolving credit facility.
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