BASTROP, Texas – An affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corp. has acquired its partners’ 92 percent interest in the 491-room Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa in Bastrop, Texas, for $143 million.
The hotel is in Bastrop, east of Austin. In September 2011, the Bastrop area was struck with a massive wildfire, which burned 34,356 acres and destroyed almost 1,700 homes. It was the worst wildfire in the history of Texas.
In buying the Bastrop resort, Hyatt Hotels Corp. also assumed $65 million of property-level debt. The total price, inclusive of debt, implies a valuation of approximately $450,000 per key. The transaction closed on November 6.
The resort has operated as Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa since it opened in 2006. The resort was developed by Woodbine Development Corp. of Dallas as developer, asset manager and managing general partner of Bastrop Resort Partners, L.P. Hyatt was one of the original co-owners and has managed the resort since its opening.
The Bastrop area was known as “Home of the Lost Pines” because of its dense pine-tree-dominated forests, which are not typical in central Texas. Most of pine forests are found in East Texas. The Bastrop fire – although it was the largest ever in Texas – was one of many that broke out in 2011 when the Lone Star State had one of the worst droughts in the last 100 years.
“Hyatt Regency Lost Pines is a sought-after destination by both leisure and group guests and has strengthened Hyatt’s presence in the Austin area, where Hyatt has a broad spectrum of lodging experiences,” said Steve Haggerty, global head of capital strategy, franchising and select service for Chicago-based Hyatt. “This transaction is consistent with our strategy to focus our investing in key areas such as resorts and group-oriented hotels. The resort’s financial and operating success of this property has made it a key asset in our portfolio, and whole ownership affords us greater control of the its future.”
Set on 405 acres along the banks of Texas’ Colorado River between Austin and Bastrop, Texas, Hyatt Regency Lost Pines is a destination unto itself. The award-winning resort features more than 60,000 square feet of indoor meeting space and over 240,000 square feet of outdoor function space with pavilions and an amphitheater, as well as the Wolfdancer Golf Club, Spa Django, Crooked River Water Park, and the Renegade Trailhead equestrian facility.