Manhattan's Carlyle Hotel Moves to Investment Group for $130 Mil

Maritz, Wolff is half owner of Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, aDallas-based management firm that operates luxury properties throughoutthe world, including the Hotel Seiyo Ginza in Tokyo and the Mansion onTurtle Creek, known as the meeting place for the Dallas business andsocial elite. The Carlyle will keep its storied name and be managed byRosewood. At $130 million, the price the Carlyle fetched is less thanthe $220 million contracted for the Rihga Royal, as published reports relate. But it compares favorably with the $750,000 per-room that the FourSeasons Hotel garnered in 1999. The Carlyle has some 250 rooms, whichcost an average of $300 per night. The Stanhope on E. 90th Street is theonly hotel in the area to compete on the luxury level in New York.

"We believe in smaller residential hotels," Philip Maritz, president of the firm that bears his name, tells GlobeSt.com. "We purchased the hotel from Peter Sharp and the late Jerry Green, who owned 52% of the shares in the co-op that owned the Carlyle."

"Rosewood is the ideal company to manage the Carlyle," Sean Hennessey,director of hotel consulting for PricewaterhouseCoopers, toldGlobest.com. "Rosewood was founded by Carolyn Hunt of the Texas Huntfamily and is known for its quality properties. Age and estate reasons are why the hotel was put up for sale.What Maritz will do is use the Carlyle to help position Rosewood as amajor player in the luxury hotel market, competing against theRitz-Carlton and Four Seasons, to name two. The Carlyle is one of theonly New York hotels to have a Five-Star Mobil rating and is used quiteoften by the investment banking community. The only possible downsidewould be if one of those companies decides to cut back if the marketdrops and other firms follow. Barring that, the Carlyle has beenmaintained and will continue to be by Rosewood."

Rosewood also owns one-sixth of Fairmont Hotel Management Co., whichoperates, but does not own, the Plaza Hotel.