Leasehold for Manhattan’s Chatwal Hotel Sells to Ben-Josef Group for $53M

Developer Ben-Josef Group Holdings has paid $53.2 million to Adams Hotels International for the leasehold at 130 West 44th Street, site of the Chatwal hotel.

It is unclear who brokered the deal or what the new owner’s plans are for the property. PincusCo was first to report the deal.

The 10-story, 75,421-square-foot Chatwal became part of hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal’s Dream Hotel Group in 2010, Commercial Observer reported back in 2018. In that article, Chatwal the person said that Chatwal the hotel was his favorite, and the most luxurious in the Dream chain. He also mentioned that the Chatwal had been named the second-best hotel in New York City by the readers of Travel & Leisure magazine. 

In February 2023, it was announced that Hyatt Hotels had completed the acquisition of the Dream Hotel Group, including the Chatwal.

That December, however, Motcomb Estates, a lender run by the billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben that had provided the hotel’s mezzanine debt, filed to seize the hotel after the debt went into default, according to Crain’s New York Business. A spokesperson for Hyatt told Crain’s that the 76-room hotel, where rooms rent for upward of $1,000 a night, was expected to be put up for auction the following month, and that it would continue running throughout the process. The hotel’s mezzanine debt balance had been $62.5 million as of Nov. 21, but was expected to climb to $79 million by the auction date, according to Crain’s.   

The hotel’s fate beyond that, however, is unclear, as there is no indicator in public records of any transaction relating to the property in 2024. It is also unclear how Adams Hotels International is related to any of the other entities involved with the hotel.

Ben-Josef Group did not respond to requests for comment, and Adams Hotels International could not be reached for comment.

Larry Getlen can be reached at lgetlen@commercialobserver.com.