Blackstone-owned Hotel Investment Partners has bought the METT Marbella Estepona hotel from the Mazabi family office for an undisclosed amount.
The deal is a further expansion of HIP’s presence on the Costa del Sol where it already owns two resort hotels, the Guadalmina Spa & Golf Resort and the Barceló Marbella.
HIP will invest additional capital to renovate and reposition the property, which will be upgraded from 4 to 5 stars.
The hotel, which will continue to be operated by Sunset Hospitality Group under the METT brand, is halfway between Marbella and Estepona.
Following the repositioning, the resort will operate 253 rooms with sea views and provide a new lifestyle concept for its leisure and culinary offering. This includes a beachside swimming pool and beach club, as well as numerous outlets and restaurants.
HIP was founded in 2015 by Alejandro Hernández-Puértolas and Banco Sabadell and was subsequently bought by Blackstone in 2017. The portfolio has grown to 72 hotels totaling around 21,000 keys across Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal.
Last year HIP signed its first investment in Italy with a deal for the purchase of six beachfront hotels on the islands of Sardinia and Sicily.
What they said
Alejandro Hernández-Puértolas, founder and CEO of HIP: “HIP continues with its growth strategy in Southern Europe focused on the acquisition of beachfront resort hotels in attractive tourism destinations, such as the Costa del Sol.
“We continue to work on the repositioning of our portfolio in line with our business strategy to generate value for the destinations in which we operate and offer our guests a unique and special experience.”