The Montage also has a meandering ownership lineage, including its 2015 purchase by Strategic Hotels for $360 million.

Last year Texas billionaire Tilman Fertitta paid $641 million for the oceanview Montage Laguna Beach, just north of San Manuel’s Dana Point investment. “It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to duplicate these resorts,” Reay says. High-end lodging in Orange County is a premium investment because of its limited supply. The Waldorf, Reay says, “is a good strategic move.” Irreplaceable real estate The tribe also has investments in hotels in Washington, D.C., and Charlottesville, Virginia. Hotel analyst Alan Reay of Atlas Hospitality notes San Manuel has also invested in non-casino lodging properties such as Bear Springs Hotel in Highland and a Residence Inn in downtown Sacramento. REAL ESTATE NEWSLETTER: Sign up for “Home Stretch” to track SoCal housing trends “Investing in a luxury destination resort such as Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach represents another milestone for our tribe, enabling us to continue executing our long-term diversification strategy,” Valbuena said San Manuel. It paid a reported $650 million for the Palms Casino Resort in 2021.

One such high-profile move was becoming the first Native American owner of a casino resort in Las Vegas. San Manuel is spreading its hospitality bets away from its legacy business, the Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel. It was known just as the Monarch Beach Resort until the Ohana acquisition. Regis hotel chain, and after several ownership changes, dropped the brand in 2016. The complicated history of the Dana Point resort highlights the gyrations of the luxury resort business. Ohana and San Manuel did not disclose the dollar amount of the investment but noted the tribe has “the option to increase its ownership through one or more future transactions.” The property includes a six-acre private beach club, three swimming pools, and its own 18-hole golf course. The tribe is partnering with Ohana Real Estate Investors, which paid $497 million for the resort in Dana Point in 2020. The 400-room, five-diamond hotel campus sits across the Pacific Coast Highway from the ocean on 162 acres. San Manuel announced Monday, June 5, that it bought a 40% stake in the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club in Dana Point. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, owners of the Yaamava’ casino and hotel in Highland, are gambling on the high-stakes Orange County luxury resort market. (File photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Current pickup locations include Glendale, Monterey Park and Los Angeles. Yaamava’ Resort and Casino at San Manuel in Highland resumed its busing program in November 2021.

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