After several years on the market, the Knob Hill Inn in Ketchum was auctioned Tuesday to an unnamed buyer from Seattle, Wash., for as-yet-unspecified amount.
The hotel was originally listed for $17 million. The listing price was later dropped to $8 million. The minimum bid at the auction was $3.1 million.
The winning bid amount will not be released until the sale closes, which typically is within 30 days, said Kari Neering, vice president of Rubenstein Public Relations, a firm working with New York City-based Concierge Auctions, which ran the auction.
According to a news release from Rubenstein, the campaign for the auction produced 180 prospects and 50 showings, and resulted in six bidders from Texas, California, Washington, Idaho and Utah. More than 2,500 visitors viewed the auction website from all U.S. states and 32 countries.
Bidding took place online and ended with an on-site auction closed to the public.
The buyer was represented by Janine Bear of Sun Valley Sotheby's International Realty.
The luxury hotel, on 1.2 acres along Main Street at the northern end of Ketchum, has 26 guest rooms, a manager's apartment, five employee housing suites, a fitness room, wine bar, indoor/outdoor swimming pool, a lounge/reception area and two restaurants.
Veterans rehabilitation organization Higher Ground hoped to buy the property last year to turn it into a rehabilitation and retreat facility for wounded veterans. But plans fell through when the organization could not raise the necessary funds.
The hotel—which has been owned and operated by the Joe and Sandra Koenig family of Ketchum—was once advertised with some of the world's most elite hotels as part of the Relais & Chateaux association.
Rebecca Meany: rmeany@mtexpress.com
The luxury Knob Hill Inn in Ketchum is set to change ownership, after the hotel was sold at auction Tuesday. Express photo by Roland Lane
