A Southern California Native American tribe is adding a crown jewel to its hospitality lineup.
The Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation is in contract to acquire the 238-room Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in downtown Riverside, the Press-Enterprise reported. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal for the 150-year-old property is expected to close by the end of this month.
The sale folds the Mission Inn into the tribe’s San Manuel Investment Authority holdings. The move is part of the tribe’s push beyond gaming into hotels and destination resorts, with leadership signaling it sees the property as a cultural and economic anchor for the community.
The seller’s ownership traces back to the early 1990s, when businessman Duane Roberts acquired the closed property for $15.6 million after a turbulent stretch of failed ownership groups and a bankruptcy. Roberts, who died in November, helped revive the hotel and, in turn, downtown Riverside, transforming the Mission Revival-style complex into a regional draw.
Hotel sales in Riverside have been sparse in recent years, according to CoStar. In the first five months of last year, the Inland Empire hotel market saw 11 transactions with an average price of $3.6 million, or $77,000 per room. By that math, the Mission Inn could have a floor price of $18.3 million. Roberts bought the hotel in 1992 for $15.6 million; the property had an assessed value last year of more than $31.1 million.
The San Manuel tribe has a track record of long-term investment plays.
It started in the early 2000s with the acquisition of the Three Fires Residence Inn hotel in downtown Sacramento and the Four Fires Residence Inn by Marriott in Washington, D.C.
In 2021, the San Manuel Nation bought the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas for $650 million, expanding the tribe’s gaming and casino offerings outside of California. The tribe also owns the 400-room Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club in Dana Point, the Bear Springs Hotel in Highland, the long-defunct Arrowhead Springs Hotel in San Bernardino’s Waterman Canyon, the Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in Highland and the Draftsman hotel in Charlottesville, Virginia. — Chris Malone Méndez
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