The upscale Trianon hotel in Old Naples has sold, fetching nearly $24.5 million.
Property records show the deal closed Nov. 1. The exact price tag: $24,451,850.
The new owner is Ocean Properties, one of the largest hotel owners and operators in Florida. Most of its properties are owned and run by descendants of the brand’s patriarch Tom Walsh.
Earlier this year, the Camalier family, longtime Neapolitans, announced a partnership with Ocean Properties to build and operate the Old Naples Hotel on Third Street South in Naples.
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The Trianon isn’t far from the planned hotel. It’s at 955 Seventh Ave. S., steps from Fifth Avenue South, Naples’ unofficial main street.
The more intimate property has 58 guest rooms. Built in 1997, the three-story hotel saw its last major renovation in 2011. It sits on a little more than an acre in a historic residential setting.
The Trianon saw little damage from Ian and it’s open for business as usual.
The property went up for sale before the hurricane.
Hunter Hotel Advisors handled the transaction for the sellers.
Despite the damage wrought by Hurricane Ian in Naples, Ocean Properties remains bullish on the area, said Sophia Pittaluga, with Hunter’s Miami office, who brokered the sale with partner Robert Taylor.
Hunter marketed the property to “a short list” of qualified buyers who it knew had the wherewithal to close a deal of this magnitude, she said.
Property records show the sellers as Olde Naples Grand Hotel Inc. The company’s president Thomas Longe couldn’t immediately be reached for comment about the sale.
Asked about any potential changes at the hotel, Pittaluga said she didn’t know of any.
“They haven’t disclosed their business plan yet,” she said.
Year-to-date, Hunter has sold 30 hotel properties in Florida, worth more than $662 million. That includes the iconic Inn on Fifth in downtown Naples, which went for $156 million in May.
“Ocean is looking to continue to grow their presence in Southwest Florida, and in Florida as a whole,” Pittaluga said.
Hunter continues to seek out business in Southwest Florida, too, she said.
From its perspective, Naples remains “one of the most dynamic hotel markets in the country,” Pittaluga said.
“We are very optimistic about the future of Southwest Florida and look forward to continuing to work with owners and buyers in this market going forward,” she said.
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In the past few years, the Naples area has seen some eye-popping hotel transactions. Other transactions, not handled by Hunter, include the sale of the landmark 125-acre Naples Beach Hotel property for redevelopment at a record price of more than $362 million and the Naples Grande for $248 million with a seamless transition to new ownership.
Trianon is the brainchild of Joseph Freni Jr., a former Ritz-Carlton executive. In creating the hotel chain, with two locations, he strived to offer the infamous Ritz-Carlton service, without all the pomp and circumstances and at a lower price.
With the new brand, he skipped the marble and chandeliers and time for a “less stuffy and robotic staff,” according to an article published in Travel Weekly before the hotel’s debut.
The article noted the preservation of a “Cracker-style” cottage on the property to be used for small meetings. Bob Vila’s “This Old House” television show restored it in 1991.
The Trianon in Bonita Bay isn’t part of the sale. It’s also open for business, unlike many other hotels and resorts in Lee County, which took a direct hit from Ian a little over a month ago.