The University of California system has finalized its purchase of the Ritz-Carlton at 1 Miramontes Point Road in Half Moon Bay, paying $192.9 million in an all-cash deal. San Mateo County property records dated October 20, 2026, list the buyer as Regency Half Moon Bay LLC, an affiliate tied to the University of California Office of the President in Oakland. This move brings a luxury coastal hotel into the university's expanding real estate portfolio in Northern California. The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, built in 2001, offers 261 rooms and sits on a prime oceanfront site along the San Mateo County coast.
Mercury News reporting and official records from the San Mateo County Recorder's Office show the seller as Chicago-based Strategic Hotels and Resorts, which bought the property in 2004 for about $124.4 million. The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay carried an assessed value of $241.8 million, so the university paid roughly 20 percent less than that figure. The gap between the purchase price and the assessed value was about $48.9 million. Compared to the 2004 sale, the new price is about $68.5 million higher, not factoring in capital improvements, operating results, or inflation. Public reporting confirmed the acquisition did not involve acquisition-level mortgage financing.
The sale came after a dispute over unpaid hotel-occupancy taxes linked to Strategic Hotels & Resorts or a related entity, with reports citing an overdue amount of about $2 million to $2.1 million. The Half Moon Bay City Council did not grant relief to the previous owner. The San Mateo County Assessor's Office verified the transfer, and the county recorder's filings provided transaction documentation. Public reporting did not show that the unpaid taxes forced the sale or that the University of California took on the liability.
UC expands Bay Area real estate holdings
The University of California has made other large hotel purchases in the region. In October 2025, a UC affiliate bought the 331-room Residence Inn Berkeley at 2121 Center Street for $175.8 million, also using all cash. That property's appraised value in 2023 was $218 million, so the purchase price was about 19.4% below the appraisal. University officials said the Berkeley hotel would not become student housing, but there is no similar public plan for the Half Moon Bay resort. Both hotel deals used affiliated limited-liability companies, as reflected in property records.
The university system has also grown its land holdings on the Peninsula. Last October, UC completed the purchase of nearly 100 acres in Belmont from Notre Dame de Namur University for $153 million. That transaction included the 46-acre campus and the 50.5-acre Water Dog Lake preserve on the city's east side. These deals put UC Investments among institutional buyers using significant cash to acquire properties near UC campuses and major Bay Area employment and education centers.
Institutional context and regional presence
The University of California system runs five campuses in Northern California: San Francisco, Berkeley, Davis, Merced, and Santa Cruz. UC Investments manages retirement, endowment, and other University of California assets, with the investment portfolio totaling about $236 billion at the time of the Ritz-Carlton purchase, according to a UCLA student newspaper report. The recent acquisitions fit a broader strategy of investing in real estate across the region, with the Office of the President in downtown Oakland overseeing these moves. As of early November 2026, the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay continued to operate as a luxury hotel, with no confirmed announcement of conversion to housing, academic use, or redevelopment. The purchase increased UC's direct stake in Bay Area hospitality real estate while the system expanded its hotel and land holdings. For more details, see coverage by The Real Deal.
