Sale price of Tampa's Westin Harbour Island hotel: $42 million

TAMPA — A Chicago real estate investment firm paid $42.35 million for the Westin Harbour Island, according to the deed recorded in Hillsborough County.

The price was not disclosed Monday when Blackstone's sale of the 299-room hotel to Walton Street Capital was announced.

Though the price is far less than that paid for two other major downtown Tampa hotels — the Marriott Waterside and the Hilton Downtown Tampa — the new owners reportedly plan a major renovation of the 29-year-old hotel.

Blackstone bought the Westin almost exactly two years ago for $39 million. In July, the Hilton sold for $110 million, and in 2014 Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Cascade Investment, created by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, paid nearly $200 million for the Marriott.

The American Automobile Association currently gives all three hotels three-diamond ratings, meaning "very good.'' Five diamonds is the top AAA rating. The Tampa Bay area does not have a single five-diamond hotel.