MIAMI—Carey Watermark Investors just bought majority interest in The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Carey acquired the hotel in a joint venture with RCFL Holdco, an affiliate of Gencom.

The Ritz-Carlton hotel buy marks Carey's third JV purchase with Gencom entities. The companies also snapped up The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia and The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne, Miami. All told, the trio of transactions represent a total over $500 million.

“The joint venture investment in The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale represented the opportunity to acquire the only AAA Five Diamond hotel in Fort Lauderdale—a strong-growth market that benefits from solid fundamentals and a strategic location with respect to air transportation and leisure demand generators,” says Michael Medzigian, CEO of CWI 1. “Our acquisition of this uniquely positioned, soon-to-be-renovated, luxury hotel in the established Fort Lauderdale resort market continues to enhance the overall quality of our portfolio.”