Riverside's historic Mission Inn sold to San Manuel Nation
The Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation in Highland is buying the 238-room Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in downtown Riverside.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal, which adds to the portfolio of hotels owned by the tribe’s San Manuel Investment Authority, is expected to close at the end of May.
Duane Roberts and his wife and co-owner Kelly Roberts were instrumental in rescuing the hotel from potential demolition. Duane Roberts bought the Mission in 1995 after it had been shuttered since the mid-1980s.
The hotel went through several ownership changes before the couple bought the sprawling hotel complex in 1992 for $15.6 million. Previously, the Riverside Redevelopment Agency bought the Inn in 1976, and then sold it in 1985 to the Carley Capital Group. Carley began a major renovation of the historic hotel before going bankrupt in 1988. Chemical Bank and the redevelopment agency completed the $50 million restoration before Duane Roberts stepped in, according to a Press Enterprise report last year.
Duane Roberts, who aided in the revival of downtown Riverside with the reopening of the hotel, died Nov. 1, 2025. Under his ownership, the hotel again became a draw for guests.
"It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as stewards of The Mission Inn," said Kelly Roberts, vice chairman and and chief operating officer of the Mission Inn, in a statement. "Duane and I poured our hearts into preserving its legacy while evolving it for future generations. I am incredibly proud of what we built together and deeply grateful to our team, the Riverside community, and every guest who has walked through its doors. I have great confidence that Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation will carry this legacy forward with the same care, respect, and vision."
Kelly Roberts, who had a home in Laguna Beach and recently relocated to Palm Beach, Florida, could not be reached for comment Monday morning.
Lynn Valbuena, chairwoman of San Manuel Nation, said the tribe recognizes the hotel’s historic, economic and cultural significance to Riverside and the region and “would be delighted to include The Mission Inn in our non-gaming hospitality portfolio.”
San Manuel spokesman Kenneth Shoji said that Valbuena wasn’t immediately available to comment further on the acquisition.
Shoji said there are no plans for gambling at the Mission Inn. He also declined to comment on renovation plans until after the deal closes.
The sale price of the hotel is unclear. According to CoStar, a property analytics firm, there have been few hotel property transactions in the last few years in the Riverside market, complicating the Mission Inn’s valuation. The Inland Empire market saw 11 hotel transactions from Jan. 1 to May 5, 2025, with an average price of $3.6 million, or $77,000 per room. Using that formula, the Mission Inn could have had a floor price of $18.3 million.
Roberts bought the hotel on Christmas Eve 1992, for $15.6 million after the Chemical Bank restoration, according to property records provided by PropertyShark. In 2025, the property had an assessed value of $31.124 million.
Local community leaders were elated over news of the deal.
“The Mission Inn is the crown jewel of the downtown,” said Jancie Penner, executive director of the Riverside Downtown Partnership, a nonprofit business association tasked with improving a square-mile of businesses in the downtown. “San Manuel is very respectable. We’ve heard rumors of the sale to San Manuel for some time. It’s not a surprise.”
Stephanie Standerfer, chair of the board of directors of the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce, said the Mission Inn is central to Riverside's “identity and economic vitality."
The tribe is “uniquely qualified to be stewards of this treasured landmark,” she said, pointing to its philosophy to invest a property and the community.
Historic and popular destination
The 150-year-old Mission Inn is Riverside's landmark historic hotel, recognized for its famous Mission Revival architecture, curated gardens and courtyards, one-of-a-kind guestrooms and suites, award-winning dining, and extraordinary collection of artifacts.
Originally established in 1876 and expanded in the early 1900s by founder Frank Miller, the property now spans an entire city block and remains a defining symbol of the region's history and charm. The hotel has been a must-stop hotel for presidents, movie-stars, social activists and other luminaries since the 19th century, according to Historic Hotels of America, a part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Roughly a dozen U.S. presidents have visited the Mission Inn, starting with Benjamin Harrison in 1891. Other presidents who have stayed overnight include Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon - who married there - Ronald Reagan - who honeymooned there - and George W. Bush.
Many of Hollywood's elite from the Golden Age of Hollywood traveled to the inn, such as Judy Garland, Bette Davis, Ginger Rogers, Mary Pickford, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Bob Hope, according to the Historic Hotels of America website.
The hotel also attracted visits from social activists, like Booker T. Washington, Susan B. Anthony, and Albert Einstein. American industrialists even stayed at the hotel, including the John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Henry Ford.
The hotel is also home to the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa Festival of Lights, which brings legions of visitors each year and has won national recognition.
Tribe expansion
The tribe's latest acquisition follows a trend over the past quarter century in which it has diversified its holdings.
Its expansion began in the early 2000s with the purchase of the Three Fires Residence Inn hotel in downtown Sacramento, and the Four Fires Residence Inn by Marriott in Washington, D.C.
In 2021, the San Manuel Band bought the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas for $650 million, allowing them to expand their gaming and casino ambitions outside of California.
The tribe's portfolio of hotels also includes Dana Point's 400-room Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club, the Bear Springs Hotel in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains in Highland, and the Draftsman in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In 2016, the San Manuel Band bought the Arrowhead Springs Hotel from Cru, formerly Campus Crusade for Christ, which owned the 1,900-acre property in San Bernardino's Waterman Canyon since 1962.
Wedding business
The Mission Inn has always had a healthy wedding business.
Peter West proposed to his Santa Ana bride-to-be, Alice, at the hotel a week after Valentine’s day in 1994. He got the idea of proposing to her by thumbing through a Travel + Leisure magazine. which listed the Mission Inn and another hotel in Twentynine Palms as idyllic romantic getaways.
He selected the Mission Inn and traveled from his job in the Silicon Valley - and she from Santa Ana - with the intent of proposing.
West, now 71, wanted to propose on a Friday night, but when they both arrived, a thunderous rainstorm put a damper on those plans. The next day before heading to the inn’s breakfast, West pulled the diamond ring out of his pocket and asked Alice if she’d marry him. Now 60, Alice had a genuine look of surprise on her face when she said yes.
What’s the secret to a long marriage?
“Respect and not expecting your partner to change,” West said. The couple now lives in Tustin.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates throughout the day.
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This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 10:40 AM.