A tribal government based near San Bernardino, California, has taken ownership of one of Arizona's most storied resorts. San Manuel Investment Authority, acting through affiliated entities, purchased the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess on October 1, adding the 750-room luxury property to a hospitality portfolio that now stretches from the Sonoran Desert to the Southern California coast.
The deal was announced by San Manuel Investment Authority, described as an unincorporated governmental entity of the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, according to inbusinessphx.com. Set on 65 acres in the Sonoran Desert, the resort includes a 44,000-square-foot Well & Being Spa, six pools, five food and beverage outlets and eight retail stores, per the same outlet. It also sits adjacent to TPC Scottsdale, home to the PGA Tour's WM Phoenix Open.
Lynn Valbuena, in remarks reported by inbusinessphx.com, said the tribe intends to work closely with the resort's existing operator. “We look forward to partnering with Fairmont and the exceptional management team at the Princess as well as becoming an active contributing member of the business and Tribal community in Scottsdale,” Valbuena said. According to the Sacramento Bee, Valbuena also said San Manuel welcomed the Princess staff and guests into its luxury non-gaming portfolio, and that the resort's setting, hospitality and amenities align with the tribe's strategy.
A Four-Decade Scottsdale Landmark Changes Hands
The Princess has long carried an elite pedigree. The resort received the AAA Timeless Diamond designation in 2025, recognizing that it had maintained Five Diamond status since 1991, the inbusinessphx.com report notes. It has also been named among Condé Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice “Top Resorts in the Southwest” for three consecutive years.
Jack Miller, quoted by the Sacramento Bee, called the property a Scottsdale landmark of four decades now beginning a new chapter under the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation. The tribe itself is a federally recognized nation located on the San Manuel Indian Reservation near Highland, California, according to a release carried on prnewswire.com, and was formerly known as the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. Per the Sacramento Bee, the roughly 200-member tribe has Serrano heritage, and the word Yuhaaviatam translates to “people of the pines.”
Part Of A Broader Hotel Buying Spree
The Scottsdale purchase is the latest in a string of acquisitions outside the tribe's longtime gaming business, which includes the Yaamava' Resort and Casino and the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, per the Sacramento Bee. San Manuel Investment Authority completed its full acquisition of the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club in Dana Point in October 2025 after first buying a 40 percent stake in 2023, according to Tribal Business News. That 400-room coastal resort includes a golf course, spa and significant meeting space, the outlet reported.
Earlier in 2026, the tribe also purchased the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside, a 238-room National Historic Landmark dating to 1876 that incorporates architectural features from more than 20 California missions, according to the Sacramento Bee. Records show the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation paid $33.2 million for that property in a deal that closed in late May, according to the Press-Enterprise, with filed transaction records showing the hotel itself sold for $29.23 million while the garage, vacant land and annex accounted for the remaining $3.68 million. The same filings show the tribe's hotel holdings also include the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club, the Bear Springs Hotel in Highland and the Draftsman in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Why Tribes Keep Buying Hotels
The Fairmont Princess deal fits a pattern playing out across Indian Country. As of July 2024, more than 50 tribes and tribal entities owned an estimated 90 non-gaming hotels totaling 11,315 rooms, according to Indian Gaming. Those properties spanned 17 states, with Arizona and California each home to 15 of them, and 39 carried a national or regional franchise while 51 operated independently, the publication reported. Industry analysts cited by Indian Gaming expect the development or purchase of non-gaming hotels to remain a viable path for tribal economic diversification.
San Manuel's hospitality expansion echoes moves by other tribal nations building out businesses beyond casino floors. The Seminole Tribe of Florida acquired the Hard Rock brand in 2007 and now operates more than 250 Hard Rock-branded venues across 70 countries through Hard Rock International, per Indian Gaming. For San Manuel, the newest addition sits on the edge of one of the PGA Tour's most recognizable stages, giving the tribe's non-gaming footprint a fresh showcase in the heart of Scottsdale.
