Sunstone Hotel Investors is purchasing one of the largest hotels on Maui – the second-largest Hawaiian Island – for US$325.7m (€240m, £191m) from an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners IV.

The investment company is paying approximately US$598,600 (€441,000, £352,000) per room for the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. The resort will continue to be managed by Marriott International after the purchase is complete and renovations are scheduled to take place during 2015 and 2016.

Sunstone, which owns high-end hotels across the US – such as the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in California, Hilton Houston-North in Texas and Hilton Times Square in New York – told bizjournals.com that this is its first property acquisition in Hawaii, which it perceives as being a ‘strong market’.

Sunstone plans to fund the acquisition, in part, with US$60m (€44m, £35m) of stock transferred to the seller at a price of US$14.87 (€11, £9) per share, with the balance of the purchase price coming from other types of stock changing hands, according to bizjournals.com.

“The acquisition fits squarely with our strategy of increasing our portfolio quality and scale, while improving our financial flexibility,” said Sunstone CEO Ken Cruse. “We intend to optimise the hotel’s 22-acre footprint with this exceptional market by creating a more well-defined, cohesive destination resort experience.”

The hotel features a 9,153sq ft (850sq m) Mandara Spa with 11 treatment rooms – some of which have ocean views – male and female steamrooms and relaxation lounges. The spa looks out over Hawaiian waters, the Molokini crater and the island of Kaho’olawe.