La Quinta, Calif. – KSL Capital Partners LLC, a new real-estate investment firm founded by the executives of a company formerly affiliated with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is raising a $975 million fund to buy luxury resorts. KSL, of La Quinta, wants to draw off affluent baby boomers’ demand for high-end resort travel, managing director Michael Shannon told the Oregon Investment Council. The council pledged $100 million to the fund yesterday.
KSL invests in hotels, golf courses, private clubs, real estate and travel services. Before teaming with KKR, Shannon was president and chief executive from 1986 to 1992 of Vail Associates, operator of Vail, Beaver Creek and other ski resorts in Colorado.
The properties in which KSL principals have invested include the La Quinta Resort & Club and PGA West in La Quinta, near Palm Springs; the Doral Golf Resort & Spa near Miami; the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa on Maui, Hawaii; the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix; the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.; and the Hotel del Coronado near San Diego.
