Famed Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix sells for $403 million

PHOENIX — The Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix, which opened as a winter-only retreat in 1929, has sold for $403 million.

The price tag on the popular vacation spot eclipsed the mark set by the sale of the Phoenician, which went for $400 million in 2015.

Blackstone Real Estate Advisors purchased the Biltmore, closing the deal April 20, according to the Phoenix Business Journal.

The iconic Biltmore will not be the Arizona holdings of the New York-based Blackstone. The group also owns the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Phoenix, the second-largest hotel in the state with 950 rooms.

The Biltmore, near 24th Street and Missouri Avenue, has 740 rooms.

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright consulted on the look of the resort, designed by one of his students, Albert Chase McArthur.

Built before air conditioning was common, the resort was open only during winter months.

Every U.S. president from Herbert Hoover to George W. Bush has spent an overnight visit at the Biltmore.

The song “White Christmas” was written by Irving Berlin at the Biltmore and Ronald and Nancy Reagan spent their honeymoon at the resort.

In 2013, the Biltmore changed ownership when the Singapore government took ownership of it through bankruptcy court.

Before then, KSL Resorts paid $335 million for the hotel in 2000.

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