Jeff Klein to Keep His Stake in the Sunset Tower Hotel

West Hollywood’s most prominent hotelier is going to keep his stake in West Hollywood’s most prominent hotel.

The New York Post reported today that Jeff Klein has made a deal with a new partner to buy the Sunset Tower Hotel.

Klein has a 20% share in the famous hotel and is its manager. The owner of the other 80% is ER Hollywood, which is controlled by Thosapong (“Mr. T”) Jaruthavee, the Thai investor.

It was revealed last month that JLL, a Chicago-based real estate broker, had secured three offers for the hotel in and around $100 million. The Post reported then that ER Hollywood “has the right to offer Klein’s 20% share as well. But he could stay in if he and the buyer agreed.”

According to The Post, the unidentified buyer has made a deal to buy the 80% share of the hotel owned by ER Hollywood and keep Klein on board. The deal is excepted to close within 90 days.

It was in 2004 that Klein and his then partner, Peter Krulewitch, purchased the 81-room hotel for a reported $18.5 million. The building, which was designed by noted architect Leland Bryant, first opened in 1931 as an apartment hotel. Klein oversaw a major renovation that that preserved the Streamline Moderne style of the building while modernizing its facilities.

Under Klein’s management the Sunset Tower Hotel and its bar and restaurant have become the go-to location for celebrities and industry influentials such as Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Huvane, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom. It also attracts media influentials such as New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd and Adam Nagourney, the newspaper’s West Coast bureau chief. To attract those guests, Klein has leveraged his contacts and friendships in Hollywood. It helps that his husband, John Goldwyn, is a producer who is the grandson of Sam Goldwyn, one of the film industry’s famous founders and the creator of what eventually became MGM.

Several people in the local hospitality industry contacted by WEHOville last month, who asked not to be quoted, praised what Klein has done with the Sunset Tower and said they hope he stays on. The hotel, they said, is an important part of the reputation of the Sunset Boulevard. One hospitality industry executive said the Sunset Tower would always be known for its architecture, but that Klein’s management has made it famous on many other levels. Klein is the unusual hotel owner who also is actually at his West Hollywood property, given that most of the city’s hotels are owned by large chains or investment groups.

Klein also is converting WeHo’s San Vicente Inn, a set of rundown bungalows built in the Shermanesque style, into an upscale boutique hotel. WEHOville has reached out to Klein who said he is unable to talk about the matter at this time.