To be renamed the Resort at Mt. Charleston, the Mt. Charleston Hotel, Event and Conference Center sits on 5.76 acres and includes gaming, a full-bar, restaurant, banquet facilities and spa services, though the gaming (15 slot machines) has been temporarily shut down while the new ownership obtains its gaming license. The resort caters to both locals and tourists, and also hosts events such as weddings, family reunions, birthday celebrations and corporate retreats. Online reviews from this summer and fall speak highly of the area in general--snowshoeing and skiing in the winter and, in the summer, a refuge from the 100-plus-degree heat in Las Vegas--but have dogged the hotel itself for being run down and lacking in amenities, a situation the Siegel Group plans to fix.

Siegel's JV partner is Great American Capital, which is controlled by Haskel Iny. Under the name Mt. Charleston Hotel LLC, Iny and partners paid upward of $4 million for the property in late 2004, according to public records. The record of the new property sale was not yet available online and Iny did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Siegel Group chief Stephen Siegel declined to go into detail but did say that Siegel Group is the controlling member and Great American Capital essentially a silent partner, and that Siegel Group affiliate Sasco Properties is assuming the management contract for the resort, which has not been operating profitably. Siegel estimates the value of hotel at between $8 million and $10 million, which he says is based on current offers to purchase the resort.

"It's a very unique asset; you can't build another one and that makes it very valuable," Siegel tells GlobeSt.com. "It has been operating very poorly due to a lack of good management and marketing; ever since it was built in the 1980s the third-party management has been absolutely terrible."

Siegel says his company's experience in utilizing marketing, branding and strategic renovations to turn around poorly operating properties should enable it to restructure operations and quickly obtain profitability. The overall plan includes an exterior and interior makeover to modernize the facilities and correct deferred maintenance issues. In the near term, in addition to cosmetic improvements to the exterior, the lobby, restaurant and banquet facilities will be upgraded and each of the 64 rooms will be completely remodeled and modernized with services and amenities such as room service, in-room movies and high-speed internet, Siegel says.

Beyond that, Siegel says analysis is underway to determine the want for such additional amenities as an indoor swimming pool, sport courts, a wine and hot chocolate bar, a cigar lounge, an observation deck with telescopes for stargazing, workout facilities with spin and yoga classes, and a full service spa and hair-nail salon.

"The addition of these amenities will be instrumental in helping attract visitors and brand this boutique resort as both a destination resort and local getaway," Siegel says.

Another key to boosting traffic will be the planned addition of a visitors center for the national forest, which is slated to be built adjacent to the hotel. Siegel says he met with the US Forest Service recently and was told that the funding for the project is in place and that construction could begin in late 2009 or early 2010.

Siegel says the resort can be profitable with a 75% to 80% average occupancy. The profit won't come from the room rate, he says, which likely will be discounted to get people up on the mountain, but rather it will come from the money spent on other things at the resort such as room service, movies, convenience items, spa services and, of course, the slot machines.

"The place won't make money just renting out the rooms so the key will be the amenities like food service," Siegel says, "We did 500 people for Thanksgiving at $24.95 per person with very little advertising; that's not bad."

This apparently will not be the only deal Siegel Group and Great American Capital do together. The two are reportedly in the process of acquiring another hotel property together. Siegel declined to discuss the transaction until it closes, which is expected to occur later this month.