Fairmont Buys Historic Claremont with California Investor

FRHI Hotels & Resorts (FRHI) announced Friday that the company has partnered with California financier Richard Blum and his family, to purchase the historic Claremont Hotel Club & Spa in Berkeley, Calif.

The new owners, equal partners in the hotel, will begin work on a multi-million dollar capital investment project to update the hotel’s facilities and enhance the Claremont’s architecture, while at the same time preserving and protecting the character and local charm of the Bay Area landmark.

Once the revitalization work is complete, the hotel will join the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts collection, which includes famed landmarks such as New York’s The Plaza and The Fairmont San Francisco. 

“Growth continues to be one of our top priorities, so we are extremely excited to be adding an asset as attractive as the Claremont,” said Kevin Frid, FRHI Hotels & Resorts president, Americas. “We see this as an opportunity to grow one of our leading brands with the right product, in the right market, and firmly believe the hotel is a perfect complement to many of the other celebrated hotels in the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts portfolio.”

”My family and I are pleased to participate in an investment in this iconic property. The Claremont is a true California treasure and its future can only be enhanced with the Fairmont imprimatur," said Blum, the husband of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein.

The 279-room hotel, which includes a 1,500-member social and tennis club, is located at the based of Claremont Canyon Region Reserve, overlooking San Francisco Bay. The property will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2015.

The Claremont joins five other FRHI properties serving guests in California. They include The Fairmont San Francisco, The Fairmont San Jose, The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, The Fairmont Newport Beach, The Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica, and the Fairmont Heritage Place, Ghirardelli Square.