The buyer, who plans an approximately $30-million renovation ofthe property, acquired the Marriott from an affiliate of BlackstoneReal Estate Acquisitions V LLC, which was represented by Jones LangLaSalle Hotels. Arthur Buser, international director for Jones LangLaSalle Hotels in Los Angeles, tells GlobeSt.com that the hotelgenerated plenty of interest in the investor community both for thespecifics of the property and for its location in the heart ofDowntown L.A.

"We had over 20 tours and more than a dozen bidders in the firstround," Buser says. "Any time you have a hotel with managementavailable in Los Angeles, it is highly, highly sought after."

Another factor driving investor interest was the quality of theproperty, which was originally built in 1983 as one of the firstSheraton Grand hotels. Buser notes that Sheraton Grand was going tobe Sheraton's luxury brand and that the chain built the property tospecifications that would rank it as "about a four-and-a-half starhotel."