LVMH Sells Santa Barbara Hotel to Mateen Brothers

LVMH Moët Hennessey Louis Vuitton SE, the French luxury conglomerate behind some of fashion’s biggest brands, is selling its only hotel in the U.S.

El Encanto, a 90-room luxury hotel in Santa Barbara, is being purchased by a joint partnership between brothers Justin and Tyler Mateen and Costa Mesa-based Culver Capital for $82.2 million, Bloomberg reported. The sale price works out to $900,000 per room.

It’s part of a larger lodging play in the area for the Mateen brothers. They are looking into snapping up 20 percent of the class A luxury hospitality market in Santa Barbara, which they view as “a growing market,” Tyler Mateen, CEO of Cannon TTM, told Bloomberg.

“We will be pouring love and resources into this iconic property to continue that legacy and ensure that it remains a top destination for visitors from around the world and down the block,” Justin Mateen, a co-founder of dating app Tinder, said in a statement.

The new owners plan to manage the property themselves. It was previously owned and operated by the Belmond hotel chain, which LVMH bought in 2019.

The Mateen brothers have been buying properties across Southern California over the past year and ramped up their actions in the past month. In June, they paid $69 million for the Hollywood Galaxy shopping center located on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In August, they dropped $211 million for Wilshire Rodeo Plaza, an office and retail complex on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

“I’ve always been a contrarian investor,” Justin Mateen told The Los Angeles Times after the Hollywood Galaxy purchase. “Whether it’s startups, public markets or real estate, I take the long view and hold through cycles for forever. While others are pulling back from cities like L.A., we’re doubling down. Its resurgence feels inevitable.”

In addition to the Belmond brand, LVMH also owns and operates Cheval Blanc hotels and Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts around the world. Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts plans to open a hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, in 2028, according to a spokesperson’s statement to Bloomberg.

— Chris Malone Méndez