Rockbridge Capital Acquires Aqua Wave Waikiki Hotel for $48M

By Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

Ohio-based private equity firm Rockbridge Capital has purchased the Aqua Wave Waikiki hotel in Honolulu from Ramsfield Hospitality Finance’s CR Wave LLC. According to the Pacific Business News, the leasehold property at 2299 Kuhio Ave. sold for $48 million.

Located at the center of many new developments in Waikiki, the pet-friendly lodging facility offers 247 guest rooms and 39 suites ranging in size from 328 to 511 square feet. Amenities include a concierge/activity desk, a fitness center, retail shops, two restaurants and two meeting and event spaces.

The acquisition marks Rockbridge Capital’s first venture in Hawaii and its 330^th hotel investment.

Richard Mandel, president of Ramsfield Hospitality Finance, told the newspaper that the hotel, which was listed by the Los Angeles office of Jones Lang LaSalle, attracted a lot of interest from investors all over the world.

Ramsfield Hospitality acquired the property in 2006 for approximately $40 million and made significant improvements, bringing it to a three-star level.

Aqua Hospitality will continue to manage the hotel, whose average daily rate rose 21 percent in 2012 and another 28 percent year-to-date through March 2013.

In other news, Laie Ventures LLC is about to break ground on a new Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Laie on Oahu’s North Shore.

Slated to rise at the site of the former Laie Inn, on land leased by Hawaii Reserves Inc., the property will feature 144 guest rooms, as well as an upscale pool, bistro and meeting space.

To make room for the new development, a McDonald’s restaurant and a Chevron gas station are being relocated to the opposite end of the 9.5-acre property.

“The hotel will be a great asset for the community, and we anticipate a mobilization and groundbreaking in the next several weeks,” Dan Gifford of Laie Ventures said in a statement.

Photo credits: www.rockbridgecapital.com