The properties are the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, Florida, and the JW Marriott in Scottsdale, Arizona, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deal isn’t public. The hotels have about 2,500 rooms combined, one of the people said.
Peter Rose, a spokesman for New York-based Blackstone, and Armel Leslie, a spokesman for Paulson & Co., the hedge fund-firm run by billionaire John Paulson, declined to comment.
Blackstone, the world’s largest real estate private-equity firm, is wagering that U.S. hotel values will keep climbing, particularly for properties that can host large groups such as conferences. The three hotels have a combined 470,000 square feet (44,000 square meters) of meeting space, the person said.
Paulson’s group took over the hotels in 2011, when Morgan Stanley’s real estate fund defaulted on debt. The bank acquired the properties in 2007, as real estate values peaked.
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