Citi sells stake in resort where AIG executives splurged

Seattle-based Washington Real Estate Holdings today said it has acquired St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, which received unwelcome attention in 2008 due to its association with troubled insurer AIG, from Citigroup for an undisclosed amount.

The company said in a statement that it acquired the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in the upscale Southern California coastal community of Dana Point from an affiliate of Citigroup Inc. The company, however, did not disclose financial details.

The 400-room luxury resort hit headlines in September 2008 after it was found that executives of AIG, which had received billions in bailout funds, reportedly spent $440,000 on a conference there, fuelling widespread criticism and a Congressional investigation.

Citigroup reportedly had seized the resort in July 2009 after the previous owners defaulted on a $70 million loan.

"We believe in the long-term viability and success of this resort and are proud to add this world class asset to our portfolio," Washington Holdings President and Chief Executive Officer Craig Wrench said.

Washington Holdings, which invests in well-positioned commercial real estate assets in the Western US currently holds both debt and equity interests in hotel properties representing more than 10,000 hotel rooms.

St Regis Monarch Beach Resort opened in 2001 and has 400 guest rooms and suites, an 18-hole championship golf course, 65,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, restaurants and the 30,000 square foot Spa Gaucin.