Aman Group Explores US$600m Sale of NYC’s Most Expensive Hotel
Location: The Crown Building at 57th Street and Fifth Avenue, New York’s Manhattan, NY, USA
Name: Aman New York – just opened August 2022
Guide Price: US$600m
Guide Price per Key: A staggering $7.2m at 83 suites – or $5.7m if one includes the Residences
No. of Keys: 83 suites and 22 residences
The Opportunity:
Aman Group, led by chief executive officer Vlad Doronin, is exploring strategic options including a sale of Aman New York, the city’s most expensive hotel.
The property, at 57th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, could fetch around US$600 million in a transaction structured as a sale and manage-back, which would see Aman remain its operator, said a person with knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity because the talks are private.
Any deal would represent the largest luxury hotel sale in New York City since the onset of the pandemic.
“Aman Group confirms it is working with JLL and UBS on the potential sale of the Crown Building,” an Aman representative said in an emailed statement, declining to comment on the value of a potential deal. “As per Aman’s asset-light operating model and strategic vision for growth, the iconic building is being offered to market subject to a long-term management contract with Aman.”
Representatives for UBS and JLL declined to comment.
The Aman New York, better known as the Crown Building, opened last month and features 83 hotel suites as well as 22 residences. It’s luxury spa has an indoor swimming pool surrounded by fire pits.
It blew away most industry commentators when the hotel opened at just over US$3,500 for the “cheapest” room….$4,600 for a 76 sqm “Premier Suite” (room only) and more luxury features than one could shake an ermine-lined stick at! such as, according to the UK’s FT: For those of sufficient means, however, there is much to enjoy. There are two dining options. Arva, the 14th-floor roof terrace restaurant , which is dedicated to “the shared enjoyment of uncomplicated flavours” and serves essentially Italian dishes and salads made from ingredients that are sourced where possible within the state. Then there’s Nama, a beautifully designed Japanese restaurant with an omakase counter hewn from a single slab of fragrant hinoki wood. It wasn’t yet open, but based on the bento breakfast they made me one morning, nine exquisite dishes presented on red-and-gold lacquer and washed down with nutty buckwheat tea, it will be very good indeed.
With a basement jazz club, spa with 20-metre pool, surrounded by fireplaces, 2 spa-houses, a cryotherapy chamber, a VacuTherm stepper – only open to hotel guests and members of a by-invitation only club – with an joining fee of $200,000 and $15,000 annual sub, a humidor to rent at $3,000 a year to stroe your cigars…you get the message…if you aren’t a millionaire (multi) don’t even bother to step foot into the new Aman!
Flag & Management: Sale & leaseback
Current Owner: Aman
Main Photo: The Aman NY…Photo Credit: Robert Rieger
Financials: It’s only been open a month
Tenure: Freehold
Agent: Retained local agents are JLL & UBS. A potential buyer would need to retain THPT
Date Posted: June 2022
THPT Comment: Hoteliers have spent the last 25 years trying to persuade members of the general public that it’s OK to enter a hotel to use it’s facilities – Aman has set that concept back to the bad old days! We thought hoteliers tried to make profitable trading businesses – this seems like just a giant ego-trip on who can outdo every other luxury city centre hotel. Those that can afford the prices, tend to flit to the lastest new opening very quickly! At $6m – $7m a key what’s the payback period?
Hotel & Serviced Apartment owners can be naturally reticent in publicising their property is for sale…for confidentiality reasons, for staff and current client reasons, so the properties featured in this section will either be “generic” or “name specific”
Each week we mail the opportunities posted in that period, but check-out the tab “Hotels Available” and call us for details of “Under the Table” – deals not posted on the site at all.
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