Orange County telecom executive Gary Jabara is in contract to buy the 22-acre Estate Yountville resort in Napa Valley.
The exact terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but some sources not involved in the deal estimate it could be worth $300 million, according to the Orange County Business Journal.
Jabara is buying from a unit of Brookfield Hotel Properties. The latter bought the property about five years ago for a reported $148 million.
Jabara said he is buying entirely with cash. His net worth is estimated in the $1 billion range and stems largely from Mobilitie, a telecom he founded. He also co-founded Villa Real Estate, a high-end residential brokerage based in Newport Beach.
The Estate Yountville is the largest commercial property in Yountville and includes two hotels, restaurants, event spaces, shops, a vineyard, and other facilities.
It’s also close to Yountville’s shops and restaurants. The town has more Michelin stars per capita than any other place in North America. The three-Michelin Star restaurant French Laundry is a short walk from the Estate Yountville.
The Estate’s two hotels are the 112-room Hotel Villagio and the 80-room Vintage House. Both were renovated around three years ago and have nightly rates of about $900. The two hotels laid off at least 158 people in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.
Brookfield’s upgrades and renovations included new rooms, a new lobby, pool area, and the addition of a private villa.
A sale price of between $270 million and $300 million figures out to about $1.4 million-$1.6 million per key between the two hotels on the property.
It’s the second recent deal involving an Orange County-based buyer for a prime Napa Valley resort property. Earlier this month, Irvine-based Sunstone Hotel Advisors bought the 85-room Four Seasons hotel in Napa Valley from Alcion Ventures for $175 million, or about $2.1 million per key.
The deal was in the works for several months before the hotel opened in October. It was the second-largest hotel deal in the country so far this year.
Sunstone also this year bought the Montage Healdsburg in Sonoma for $265 million, or about $2 million a key.
Overall, luxury hotels have outperformed lower-priced hotels during the pandemic, but extended-stay hotels have also performed relatively well.
[OCBJ] — Dennis Lynch