Nashville, Tenn.-based Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, from Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT), a perpetual-life, institutional quality real estate investment platform, for $800 million.

According to officials from Ryman, a leading lodging and hospitality real estate investment trust that owns the Gaylord-branded hotels and resorts across the U.S., Ryman’s acquisition of the meetings and leisure resort property gives the hospitality and entertainment company access to the nation’s seventh-most populous city, and the second-most populous city in Texas, which is also known as one of the top meetings and leisure markets in the U.S.

Located amid approximately 640 acres in the Texas Hill Country, the JW Marriott Hill Country, which opened in 2010, is a premier group-oriented resort offering 1,002 rooms and 268,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space. The resort’s myriad amenities include the 26,000 sq. ft. Lantana Spa; eight food and beverage outlets; the nine-acre River Bluff water experience; and two 18-hole golf courses.

Announced on June 5, the deal marks Ryman’s second major hotel acquisition in Texas since 2021, when the company acquired The W Hotel in downtown Austin for $275 million. With the addition of the JW Marriott Hill Country to Ryman’s portfolio of group-oriented hotels, the company will own two of the top group-focused assets in Texas, according to Ryman officials.

“We identified the JW Marriott Hill Country as an ideal acquisition target quite some time ago,” said Mark Fioravanti, president and CEO of Ryman Hospitality Properties. “Located in an attractive and growing market with no emerging competitive supply, this beautiful resort is a natural complement to our existing Gaylord Hotels portfolio and offers significant opportunities to serve the group and leisure sides of our business,” Fioravanti said in a statement.

He continued, “We are pleased with the opportunity to expand our relationship with Marriott as we continue to grow our network of one-of-a-kind group hotels. We are excited to add this high-quality asset to our portfolio and expect the acquisition to be accretive to our adjusted funds from operation per share in the first full year of ownership. We look forward to pursuing additional value creation opportunities at this property and synergies with our existing portfolio through our unique asset management approach.”

Blackstone officials said they expect the sale to generate $275 million in profit for the BREIT since it bought the property in 2018.

“Where you invest matters, and Ryman’s unsolicited outreach demonstrates the strong investor demand for BREIT’s portfolio, which is concentrated in the highest growth sectors and geographies,” said Nadeem Meghji, head of Blackstone Real Estate Americas. “This sale, which generates approximately $275 million in profit over a five-year hold period through COVID, represents a terrific outcome for BREIT shareholders.”

Ryman plans to continue to operate the resort under the JW Marriott flag and the sale is expected to close in the second or third quarter of this year, subject to customary closing conditions.

BofA Securities acted as exclusive financial advisor to Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc., and Bass, Berry & Sims PLC and Greenberg Traurig, LLP acted as legal advisors. Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Eastdil Secured, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Santander US Capital Markets LLC, Scotiabank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Wells Fargo acted as financial advisors to BREIT, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal advisor.

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