The local owners of two 樱桃视频hotels both sold their properties this week.
Paul Turner and his partners sold the Mountain Retreat Hotel and Suites for an undisclosed amount of money to Coastal Resources Ltd., a group of four owners from Calgary.
The deal closed last Thursday (June 30).
Sameer Kajani of the Chieftain Hotel sold his property to Bob Nijjar and their deal closes Tuesday (July 12).
The new owners of the Mountain Retreat are Mahedi Meghani and his brother Nazir along with brothers Rahim and Azim Lakhoo.
The two new owners were reluctant to speak about their future plans for their new properties in the 樱桃视频Business Park and none of the people involved in either sale would confirm the selling prices.Azim Lakhoo confirmed his company has three hotels in Alberta. He said in an interview from Calgary that all three operate under major flags: Sheraton, Holiday Inn and Delta.
The Mountain Retreat has 87 rooms, a restaurant, a cold wine and beer store, a pool and a small amount of meeting space.
Turner initially partnered with Bruce Kehler of Comox and partners based in Calgary with the Super 8 chain to build the hotel's first phase, eight years ago. The Super 8 partners were eventually bought out and the hotel became an independent operation. The Mader family of 樱桃视频joined Kehler and Turner as partners in the venture.
Turner pointed out the second phase of the project, an additional 30 rooms and a conference room big enough for 200 people, was not completed.
Turner said the ownership group was ready to sell and a good offer came along.
"Anybody with prop along the highway since the Olympics were announced knows there is interest," he said.
The hotel's original general manager, Wendy Magee, also decided to take another job and Turner said she did an excellent job of running the facility.
"We didn't have a lot of hands on and we relied on Wendy to run it," Turner said. "This group came along and made us what we thought was a good offer."
Turner said he learned a great deal from owning the hotel and doesn't regret his experience in the hospitality industry, but he now intends to concentrate more on his forestry ventures.
Kajani also said he learned a great deal from his four-year stint owning the Chieftain Hotel.
The heritage operation between Cleveland and Second Avenues along Victoria Street has 46 rooms, a 200-seat nightclub, a 60-seat lounge, a 150-seat pub and a cold wine and beer store. A parking lot at the corner of Second Avenue and Victoria Street is also part of the property.
Kajani's departure is being marked this weekend. A Friday farewell party between 2 p.m. and 2 a.m. is planned and he is following that on Saturday with a special event for most of the hotel's 30 employees.
Operations at the hotel will be limited on Sunday and the hotel will completely shut down on Monday in anticipation of the new owners taking over on Tuesday.
Kajani plans to travel for three months.
"I'll probably look for a different business opportunity," Kajani said of his plans once he returns. "I've been approached for a few different business opportunities.
He said the hotel turned a significant corner under his ownership.
"There were three bankruptcies before me," Kajani said.
He started with just four employees and in the first week the health and fire inspectors both told him he had a week to make improvements or he faced closure.
Kajani said he was lucky to be surrounded by a staff that functioned like a family.
Like the new owners of the Mountain Retreat, the new Chieftain owner has existing ties to the hotel industry.
