WORLD PROPERTY CHANNEL ®

Celine Dion

(HENDERSON, NV) -- The 349-room Ritz-Carlton at Lake Las Vegas, constructed in 2003 as the centerpiece of a planned 3,600-acre mixed-use development 15 miles from the Las Vegas Strip, is closing for good May 2, 2010.

About 400 employees will lose their jobs but may be placed at other Ritz-Carltons and Marriotts, according to Hotel Check-In and USA Today.  The Ritz-Carlton chain is a unit of Marriott International.

Deutsche Bank AG officials said the hotel was a losing proposition for them. The German bank had foreclosed on the property a year ago after the developer of the Lake Las Vegas project, Transcontinental Corp., defaulted on a $540 million loan from lenders led by Credit Suisse.

Sid Bass

Transcontinental principals Ron Boeddeker and Texas tycoons Sid and Lee Bass, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the project last year, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Separately, the Ritz-Carlton  also defaulted last year on its $103 million loan and went through a short stint in Chapter 11 before Deutsche Bank was allowed to foreclose on it, WSJ reports.

Industry watchers don't anticipate more luxury hotel project closings are on the horizon.  "Depending on how far under water the properties are, lenders may choose to operate them until the market improves," Charles Quinn, executive vice president, CBRE Hotels, Dallas, tells USA Today.

Charles Quinn

Transcontinental began developing the Lake Las Vegas  project in the 1990s. It was planned for thousands of upscale homes, a small casino, three golf courses and two resorts.

The strategy was to design a resort community mostly for permanent residents rather than visitors, according to the WSJ. Singer Celine Dion bought a house there.

The Ritz-Carlton division of Marriott International Inc. operates 73 Ritz's but owns none. The Lake Las Vegas resort is the first Ritz to close, though a few Ritz-Carlton projects are stalled in construction, Marriott officials confirm.

Ritz-Carlton at Lake Las Vegas map

"This was a decision by the owner (Deutsche Bank), and we reluctantly agreed to it," Ritz-Carlton spokeswoman Vivian Deuschl told the Hotel Check-In publication.

The Ritz at Lake Las Vegas is a sprawling resort, with a wing of rooms that extends over part of the lake on concrete pillars. It includes a spa, a wedding chapel, two restaurants and boat access to the lake.

The WSJ reported Ritz-Carlton declined to divulge the hotel's occupancy or average rate. But online rates for a one-night, midweek stay at the hotel later this month ranged from $219 to $449.

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