US hotel operator Starwood Hotels & Resorts has sold the Gritti Palace hotel, a landmark in the Italian city of Venice, to Nozul Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of the Qatari conglomerate Jaidah Holdings.

US hotel operator Starwood Hotels & Resorts has sold the Gritti Palace hotel, a landmark in the Italian city of Venice, to Nozul Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of the Qatari conglomerate Jaidah Holdings.

The transaction price comes to $117 mln (€105 mln).

Built in 1525 as the private residence of Doge Andrea Gritti, Gritti Palace offers 82 rooms (including 21 suites) with views of the Grand Canal and Santa Maria della Salute. The hotel completed a significant restoration last May and features the Club del Doge restaurant, Bar Longhi, and the Acqua di Parma Blu Mediterraneo Spa.

Starwood will continue to operate the hotel under The Luxury Collection brand flag as part of a new long-term management agreement.

Adam Aron, CEO of Starwood on an interim basis, said the disposal was part of the group’s planned sale of hotels.

'As we said on our quarterly earnings' conference call on 29 April, Starwood reaffirmed our confidence that, as part of our asset light strategy, we would complete $800 mln in hotel dispositions in the balance of 2015, while maintaining these hotels’ continued participation in the Starwood system. The sale of the Gritti Palace is an important and positive step toward achieving our 2015 target,' Aron said.

'The sale of the Gritti Palace, Venice highlights our ongoing commitment to sell properties to the right long-term partners to create value for our shareholders. Amidst the strong transaction market, we’re seeing a surge in interest in our remaining assets from a broad array of investors worldwide,' added Simon Turner, president of global development for Starwood.