COLONIE — The Desmond, the iconic 1970s hotel and conference center modeled on colonial Williamsburg, is for sale.
The Albany Business Review was the first to report that the property is once again on the market, without a listing price.
The Business Review quoted Michael Chain, one of the executors of the estate of John K. Desmond Jr., the Philadelphia businessman who built the hotel in partnership with American Airlines in the 1970s.
Chain told the Business Review he expected the sale price to be in the “$30 million to lower $40 million” range, and that operating such a large conference center in the Albany market is difficult. The Desmond is one of two local hotels operating under the Crowne Plaza name as an affiliate of IHG Hotels & Resorts.
“In today’s world of hospitality, with the exception of big cities and resorts, that’s not an easy investment,” Chain told the Business Review.
When it opened in 1974, The Americana Inn had 183 guest rooms, a large indoor courtyard called the Village Green, two restaurants: the Green Tree Coffee House and the Tavern-on-the-Green, and a bar called the Patroon Tavern. It was all made with hand tools to look like colonial Williamsburg, Va.
The partnership with the airline didn’t last long. The following year, American Airlines got out of the hotel business, and Desmond, who died in 2014, operated the hotel on his own, although Desmond didn’t add his name to the brand until 1986.
Today, the hotel, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024, has 322 guest rooms.
Desmond also owned another hotel called The Desmond in Malvern, Pa., outside of Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Business Journal reported last year that the hotel was for sale. Chain told the Business Review that the Malvern Desmond has a buyer in place already.
“The staff in both cases will stay in place no matter who buys it, and the executive staff stays in place,” Chain told the Business Review. “Whether or not the overall management company is retained in either remains to be seen.”