El Tropicano Hotel Owners Obtain Loan for Major Revamp

Trestle Studio obtained a $79 million construction loan to move forward on plans to upgrade the famed El Tropicano Hotel. The firm received a variable interest rate loan from Fortress Credit Co.

Trestle Studio and Austin investor The Town Lake Co. closed on the 308-room property in December 2023. Studio 8 is doing the design work.

Along with an interior overhaul, the team has outlined plans for a staircase connecting the hotel to the River Walk, building a deck overlooking the river and river-level landscape modifications.

The 2024 transaction ended a legal battle after it fell into foreclosure under the previous ownership. Local private equity firm Alamo Equity was sued by one of its investors, who claimed the fund manager was using dollars earmarked for the renovation to shield themselves from personal financial exposure. After a default was initiated through mezzanine lender Weston Urban, a months-long negotiation process kept it off the auction block.

Trestle plans to reopen the hotel in 2026. It originally opened in 1962.