The bankrupt Days Inn Maui Oceanfront Inn in Kihei has been sold to a Chinese investor for $7.5 million, according to court documents.
Hawaii U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris recently approved the sale of the hotel - home to the Sarento's on the Beach restaurant - to Xiaoying Wang and California-based USA Tianren Hotel Management Inc. The company also owns the Days Inn and Suites Fullerton hotel in California.
San Diego-based Western Apartment Supply & Maintenance Co., the former owner of the 86-room hotel at 2980 S. Kihei Road, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year. The company owed more than $12 million on a mortgage with OneWest Bank at the time.
Wang could not be reached for comment Sunday. Neither could Jay Jayyusi, general manager of the Days Inn and Suites Fullerton, who is listed in court documents as a contact for USA Tianren Hotel Management Inc.
The company was incorporated in California in 2007, according to business registration filings. Its listed mailing address is the same address as that of the Days Inn and Suites Fullerton hotel.
Messages left at the Maui Oceanfront Inn were not returned. The hotel has 17 employees.
A court-appointed trustee began accepting bids in March of at least $7 million for the property, according to court records. (An appraisal last summer valued the leasehold property at $8.6 million, records show.)
The property is made up of six two-story buildings and sits on land leased from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. The hotel has 21 years left on the lease, according to court records.
The approved sale includes assignment of the land lease and operating agreement for Sarento's, as well as a permit for the resort's parking lot.
Proceeds from the sale will go toward closing costs and compensation of $112,500 to the bankruptcy trustee, with the remainder to be paid to OneWest Bank, according to court documents.
The Maui Oceanfront Inn was built in 1973. Japan-based Towa Shinyo Maui bought the hotel in 1990 for $5.9 million. Western Apartment Supply & Maintenance bought the property in 2000 for $5.4 million and previously operated the hotel under the Best Western brand.
* Nanea Kalani can be reached at nkalani@mauinews.com.
