BRUSSELS-In a deal that provides continued exposure to Europe's improving hospitality sector, Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. and two partners have secured three investment properties here, according to officials for the Bethesda, MD-based REIT. Two of the properties are hotels, while the other is a 57-unit executive apartment building operated by Marriott.

The erstwhile Host Marriot Corp. acquired the Belgian buildings in a joint venture that includes Dutch institutional investor Stiching Pensiofonds ABP and GIC Real Estate, an arm of the Government of Singapore. Launched in March 2006, the partnership now owns 10 properties in five European countries, having previously made purchases in England, Italy, Poland and Spain.

The biggest property among the trio just acquired is the 262-room Renaissance Brussels Hotel, while the partnership also bought the 218-room Brussels Marriott Hotel. A sales price for each asset was not provided, but sources put the total amount invested at more than $140 million. In conjunction with the acquisitions, the partnership closed on a $97-million mortgage loan. The note bears an interest rate of 5.65% and matures in 2014, Host detailed in a release announcing the deal.

New York Stock Exchange-listed Host touts itself as the largest lodging REIT, with a specialty on the luxury market. The current portfolio includes 121 properties and more than 64,000 rooms, while the European partnership now has 3,200 rooms. Included in the European roster are the Westin Palace in Madrid and the Westin Palace in Milan; the Hotel Arts in Barcelona; and the Sheraton Warsaw Hotel & Towers in Poland. Host also has international properties in Canada, Chile and Mexico owned through a separate operation.

Efforts to contact Host and other members of the European partnership to discuss the fund's future plans were unsuccessful, but in documents previously released by the group, the joint venture estimated it has equity commitments exceeding $735 million. Those funds are expected to enable the purchase of hospitality related product worth more than $2 billion, including that already spent to date.