Smart Meetings

Hotel Hopscotch

Hotels are changing hands all over Hawaii, and Morgan Stanley Real Estate has emerged as a major player in South Maui. One of the largest global real estate investment managers, Morgan Stanley purchased the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa, a Waldorf-Astoria property, from CNL Hotels & Resorts in February, a deal that also included several other trophy hotels in the West.

Part of the Wailea sale were La Quinta Resort & Club and PGA West; The Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa and The Claremont Resort & Spa, as well as the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa. The deal is expected to close sometime in the second quarter.

Morgan Stanley must really like the area, as it purchased, together with two partners, the neighboring Maui Prince in Makena. The purchase also included the entire 1,800-acre Makena Resort, which will see real estate development as well as a total renovation of the hotel and its amenities.

For more Maui news, see our Maui story in the May issue.