"It's not a strategic asset for us," Gary Stougaard, executive vice president of development for Sunstone, tells GlobeSt.com, in explaining the reason behind the sale.Stougaard says Sunstone has had several offers on the 295-room property, located Downtown, but has not yet found a buyer. He would not disclose the asking price for the property but one city official who did not want to be identified says a hotel chain has offered Sunstone $15 million for both the hotel and its adjacent 18-hole golf course, the first golf course to be developed in Arizona.

The hotel, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its Mission Revival architecture, designed in part by Frank Lloyd Wright, has become a key focus for the city as it moves forward with plans to revitalize its Downtown.

"The city would very much like to see the property expanded," notes Stougaard. "We hope we can find a buyer who can carry that on. "It's a famous piece of real estate, perhaps one of the most famous in Chandler and certainly one of the most well-known in the Valley," he adds. "I'd certainly like to see it get back to its glory days and perhaps a new buyer can do that."

The hotel, set on 123 acres in the city's historic center, enjoyed its heyday in the early 1900s when, as one of the first resorts in Arizona, it attracted a number of well-known movie stars, including Fred Astair, Errol Flynn and Joan Crawford. As other resorts opened in Arizona, however, the hotel lost much of its luster.

Its sale would leave Sunstone with only two Arizona holdings, both Holiday Inns, located in Flagstaff and Mesa. The firm owns more than 50 hotels throughout the US.