A Japanese hotel heavyweight has planted a $63 million flag in West Hollywood, buying the 105-room Kimpton La Peer as the neighborhood around the Pacific Design Center continues to attract high-end hospitality money. The property will keep its Kimpton identity and day-to-day operator, so guests are getting a new owner—not an overnight APA-branded makeover.
APA Group acquired the hotel through its APA Hotel USA subsidiary, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal. The $63 million price, reflected in a deed recorded in Los Angeles County on July 9, works out to roughly $600,000 per room.
West Hollywood Hotel Keeps Its Kimpton Identity
In a July 10 release, APA Group said IHG Hotels & Resorts will continue operating the property, which will be renamed Kimpton La Peer West Hollywood. APA also said it is considering future partnerships with IHG to develop Kimpton hotels in Japan.
That arrangement preserves the hotel’s original brand strategy. When La Peer opened in 2018, IHG Hotels & Resorts described it as the first hotel in West Hollywood’s Design District, with 105 rooms, a rooftop event terrace, a pool and more than 8,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor dining and lounge space.
The property’s current lineup includes the Ladyhawk Eastern Mediterranean restaurant, a poolside lounge, a rooftop event space with a pickleball court and a mix of guest rooms, dining areas and gathering spaces, according to the Kimpton La Peer hotel website. In other words, the new ownership comes with a ready-made lifestyle package rather than a blank slate.
APA Makes A Bigger North American Bet
APA is presenting the purchase as the first major move under its new AIM5-II business plan, which began in April. The company says the strategy calls for stronger North American operations and 10,000 international rooms by the end of March 2031, according to its announcement.
The sale also arrives as West Hollywood hotel assets continue changing hands. A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows Pebblebrook Hotel Trust completed a $43.5 million sale of the 115-room Chamberlain West Hollywood in May; the transactions are not identical, but together they point to continued investor interest in the local hospitality market.
KHP Exit Highlights Design District Momentum
The seller, San Francisco-based KHP Capital Partners, completed the five-story La Peer building in 2017, and the hotel became an early anchor for the district surrounding the Pacific Design Center. The Los Angeles Business Journal reported that KHP’s Benjamin Rowe, a former Kimpton executive, launched the firm in 2015 with Mike Depatie and Joe Long.
Newmark’s Tony Malk, who arranged the sale with Greg Morgan and Griffin Garbarini, called West Hollywood appealing to “unique capital sources” and said buyers view the Los Angeles hospitality market as a “strategic, long-term investment.” For now, the visible change is mostly the ownership ledger—and the slightly longer name on the sign.
