se san diego

Luxury San Diego Hotel Files Chapter 11

The Sè San Diego has become the latest luxury hotel to file Chapter 11. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that 5th Avenue Partners, the owners and operators of the 184-room boutique hotel, filed Chapter 11 to prevent the main lender WestLB AG Bank from appointing a receiver to take over. As of last month, Fifth Avenue Partners owed around $73 million. The hotel's construction loan came due in May 2009 just five months after it opened in late 2008. In 2008 we covered the opening of the hotel and the creation of the West Coast's largest hotel penthouse, a three-floor spread going for $20,000 a night.

It also has 22 unsold condos, the Se Residences, that sit atop the hotel. The hotel has struggled to find its place in San Diego's tourist market but does have a thriving nightclub, Siren, a rooftop pool bar & lounge that is popular with both locals and vacationers. The hotel has received good reviews and was on Condé Nast Traveler's 2009 Hot List. The Union-Tribune reports that in the filing Fifth Avenue said it would make almost $4.7 million over the next 13 weeks with total expenses of around $4.4 million. There are signs that a turnaround in both the hotel-condo and luxury travel markets is coming but the question is whether or not the property can manage its finances well enough to hold on until then.

The hotel remains open for business and is offering a Summer Lovin' package that includes accommodation, a summer facial in Sè Spa, Sè Spa Pedicure featuring OPI Summer Collection Polish, daily breakfast for two ($50 daily credit) and valet parking starting at $429 plus tax.

Tags: chapter 11, chapter 11 bankruptcy, hotels in trouble, se san diego

S� San Diego Offers West Coast's Largest Penthouse

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

If you have $20,000 a night to spend on a hotel room you can bunk at the newly renamed Sé San Diego (formerly The Setai) in their ultra-luxurious suite which is said to be the biggest penthouse on the West Coast. The Grand Penthouse spreads over three floors and has a large kitchen, six flat-screen televisions and a rooftop patio. The hotel also offers rooms for an average of $500 a night. Sé has 184 rooms and a sumptuous exotic decor that includes Brazilian walnut flooring, stingray skin and bronze doors. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the hotel went through a name change after a legal battle with the Setai hoteliers in Miami Beach and New York.

The $150 million resort has a long list of amenities that include a concierge, European-style breakfast, a personal chef for the penthouses, a lobby bar, fitness center, infinity edge pool, spa, business center, twice-daily housekeeping and transportation in a luxury SUV with a five mile radius of the hotel.

It's not the ideal time to open a hotel, especially in San Diego where the crowded luxury hotel market is already struggling. As a nod to the economy Sé is offering lower introductory rates starting at $229.

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Tags: california, hotel, luxury hotel, LuxuryHotel, se san diego, SeSanDiego