WASHINGTON, DC-Loews Hotels & Resorts hasagreed to acquire the iconic Madison Hotel, a356-room hotel located in Washington's CBD. The seller isJamestown Properties, which acquired the hotel more than a year ago. Loews'purchase is scheduled to close in January 2013.

Pricing was not disclosed but the last time the hotel tradedhands it was for $123 million—a deal that included the connected95,000-square-foot office building. At the time of the purchasefrom Bentall Kennedy, Jamestown said it planned toinvest an additional $20 million into hotel. It did, and therenovation--which Loews CEO Paul Whetsell called "dramatic"--isexpected to give the asset a strong competitive position in the DCmarket.

The hotel market seems to operate in fits and starts in the DCarea and Mid-Atlantic region. After a dearth of transactions,several—including the Madison—are starting to close. Last weekBRE Select Hotels Corp., an affiliate ofBlackstone Real Estate Partners VII,swooped in and acquired the Richmond-based Apple REIT Six for $1.2billion. The REIT has a portfolio of 66 hotels locatedin markets across 18 states, much of it focused around the Marriottand Hilton brands. The deal is indicative of private equity'sgrowing appetite for hospitality assets.