At least two recent attempts to sell the property fell through for Blackstone. A JV of Fairmont Hotels and Manhattan-based Thor Equities pulled out of a $46 million deal to buy the property in late 2007. A New York firm called HP Hotel Capital put down a deposit in spring 2008 but never closed; according to published reports company principal Adam Hochfelder was arrested that summer and indicted on several charges after allegedly misrepresenting the value of his personal and professional holdings in order to borrow approximately $17 million from partners, family members, friends and banks between late 2002 and early 2008.

"We think The Peaks has strong operational upside in a world class destination," Cullen said. "Both ski and summer offer great recreational opportunities and the airport modernization that is nearing completion will open Mountain Village, the Town of Telluride and the Peaks to a wider audience. To me the bottom line question is 'If it were not here now, would you build it again?' My unequivocal answer is 'yes'."

Instead of substantial debt financing for the hotel acquisition, which wasn't yet available on reasonable terms, Herrick said the investor group put up a big chunk of the purchase price in equity and obtained a small loan through an affiliate of Bixby Bridge Capital, LLC, a Northbrook, Illinois based private lender. "Many investors are paralyzed by the current news headlines and are either out of this sector all together or are taking a wait-and-see approach," he said. "This allows some very attractive opportunities to slip through the cracks. We think Peaks is one of these."