Foreclosed hotel near Strip coming up for sale

A hotel near the Las Vegas Strip that went into foreclosure this fall is now coming up for sale.

Real estate auction firm RI Marketplace announced Monday that the lender-owned Lexi hotel is being offered for sale. The starting bid is $2 million, with the online auction scheduled to open Dec. 15 and end Dec. 17, according to the firm’s website.

The winning bidder must put down a nonrefundable 10 percent deposit within 24 hours of the auction closing, according to Damian Smoter, senior vice president with RI Marketplace.

The 64-room hotel, on Sahara Avenue at Interstate 15, is an adults-only property that boasts a “notorious” topless pool.

Former owner Alex Rizk, who acquired the hotel in 2022 for $11.9 million, turned it into the Lexi. He also sought to make it a cannabis-friendly property, a concept that ultimately didn’t work out.

He eventually faced a pile of unpaid bills and previously said the hotel’s occupancy was “spotty.”

Fairview Partners, a Seattle-based debt fund manager, foreclosed on the hotel in October, Clark County records indicate. Fairview principals Carson Rasmussen and Nels Stemm did not respond to requests for comment.

The Lexi’s website shows that guests can still book rooms, that the property is “revamping” its bars and restaurants, and that it has been smoke-free since early this year.

According to Smoter, the hotel is nearly sold out this weekend.

Buyer ‘spooked’ by story

The Lexi, 1501 W. Sahara Ave., is a small, boutique property in a market dominated by massive casino-resorts along Las Vegas Boulevard.

The hotel is only about a mile west of the Strip but is not the most visible property. It’s tucked behind a flyover ramp — one of a cluster of overpasses at or near the Sahara-I-15 interchange — and is not accessible directly from Sahara.

Smoter said the starting bid for the Lexi is “very different” from the expected sales price, adding his team will start the bidding at a lower amount to draw a wide range of prospective buyers.

He also said the Lexi auction has a “reserve” price, or a minimum acceptable amount the seller will take.

Smoter said this price is not disclosed but is higher than the starting bid.

Rizk, CEO of Phoenix-based Pro Hospitality Group, confirmed on Tuesday that Fairview foreclosed on the property. He also said that he was under contract three times to sell the hotel, but the deals fell through.

He said the first two buyers weren’t willing to pay his asking price.

The third buyer, according to Rizk, got “spooked” after the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported this past summer that several liens for unpaid bills had been filed against the property.

According to Rizk, the buyer didn’t want the world to know he had purchased the hotel when he could have waited for a foreclosure auction.

Hotel overhaul

Rizk acquired the former Artisan hotel in March 2022. His group unveiled the hotel’s new name in January 2023, saying the property would remain open during a multimillion-dollar renovation and be the first “cannabis-friendly” hotel in Las Vegas.

A news release indicated that guests would be able to consume marijuana on the fourth floor, where each room would have a state-of-the-art air filtration system.

Rizk held a grand-opening celebration in spring 2023. The hotel boasted redesigned rooms, a grand lobby, new luxury cabanas by the pool, dining options, DJs and a members-only lounge.

Since 2024, however, several liens were filed against the property alleging unpaid water bills, garbage bills, contractor invoices and room taxes, the Review-Journal reported this summer.

The biggest claim by far was a notice of default, filed this past April, alleging $11.6 million was owed in connection with a loan on the property, Clark County records showed.

‘Not interested in it’

Rizk told the Review-Journal this summer that occupancy at the hotel had been “spotty.”

As he described it, construction also took longer than expected, borrowing costs shot higher, and running a small, boutique hotel in Las Vegas was an “uphill battle.”

Rizk said that he had asked himself if the location was an issue. But he noted the Lexi is near popular eateries, and he questioned who comes to Las Vegas and doesn’t look online where they’re staying.

Still, he felt the hotel needed a national brand to compete with resorts on the Strip.

He also said that when he bought the hotel, he had a 24-month bridge loan, or short-term financing. He planned to renovate the property in 12 months, operate it for 12 months, and then refinance.

But construction lasted almost 20 months, he said, adding he wasn’t able to refinance because of the delays and rising interest rates.

This past week, Rizk said that construction costs had also soared and that the cannabis-friendly concept didn’t work, as the target clientele was ultimately “not interested in it.”

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.