Westwood's first and oldest hotel sells for $12.25M

Correction: Based on erroneous information from the lending firm Thorofare, an earlier version of this post incorrectly stated the that the Claremont would be extensively renovated and turned into a Palihotel.

Westwood’s first and oldest hotel, the Claremont Hotel, has sold for $12.25 million to investors, according to lending firm Thorofare Capital Funds, which kicked in a sizable loan for the deal.

The sellers are described as “a local family” that has owned the 53-room hotel since it was built for them in 1939. The family sold the Westwood Village property for an undisclosed amount to Shamina Investments, a West Hollywood-based group.

Ben Keywanfar of Shamina Investments tells Curbed that Shamina is still formulating plans for the future of the Claremont. They plan to undertake some minor, deferred maintenance projects and also make some small cosmetic upgrades, like putting higher-quality sheets on the beds. Since these projects aren’t major, the hotel will remain open for the duration of the work.

Keywanfar says that the plan is ultimately for an operator and manager to be brought in, but there isn’t any one group signed on to the project just yet. Keywanfar’s focusing on coming up with a design plan and figuring out how to redo the 78-year-old hotel further down the road.

Keywanfar says ultimately, he imagines the hotel with better design and a boutique feel, something on par with a W Hotel or an SLS but obviously much smaller, and with a nightly rate of around $250.

The new owners received a $11.25-million loan from Thorofare Capital to help purchase the hotel, according to the lending firm.

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