USA, Greenwich, Connecticut. March 17, 2021

Knighthead Funding has provided a $61 million first mortgage loan secured by Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, in Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico.

The five-year, floating-rate, non-recourse loan from Knighthead Funding refinances maturing debt.

As the first Ritz-Carlton Reserve Hotel in the Americas and one of only five in the world, Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, is one of the most luxurious properties under the Ritz-Carlton Reserve flag. Opened in 2012, Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, is situated in the exclusive gated neighborhood of Dorado Beach, on the former Laurence Rockefeller estate, on Puerto Rico's Atlantic Coast. The ultra-luxury resort features 114 beachfront guest rooms and suites, and a five-bedroom, 8,600-square-foot, Presidential Villa.

Amenities include two championship golf courses, beach club, multiple swimming pools, four restaurants, five-acre botanical spa, fitness center, retail stores and 5,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting spaces. The award-winning AAA Five Diamond beachfront retreat has been recognized as one of the best resorts in the world by Conde Nast and the Best Hotel in the Caribbean by U.S. News & World Report.

While the hospitality industry has been severely impacted by the pandemic, Knighthead's financing demonstrates that capital remains available for well positioned hotel assets with strong sponsorship, according to Knighthead Funding Principal Jonathan Daniel, who led the origination team from the firm's Greenwich, CT headquarters.

"Despite displacement and impact from external factors, the hotel has been able to maintain one of the highest average daily rates (ADR) in the region," said Daniel. "In its short history, the property has yet to reach its full potential. As market conditions start to improve, we project increases in both ADR and RevPAR, especially as high-end group business returns.