Lake Of The Ozarks Resort Mogul Has Big Plans To Buy, Renovate Foreclosed Regalia Hotel

LAKE OZARK, Mo. — It's been eerily quiet at The Regalia Hotel this year. But that's about to change.

After a short run at Lake of the Ozarks, the hotel and conference center closed and was foreclosed on, in the past year. It appeared without fanfare in an online real estate auction in 2023, with bidding approaching $3 million, though it's not clear that the resort changed hands at that time.

This year's closure happened quietly, catching many visitors by surprise. On May 25, one person posted in a local Facebook group, "We booked a room at the Regalia Hotel on Horseshoe Bend for Memorial Day weekend, and we tried calling several times, but the phones were disconnected. We pulled up to an empty parking lot, overgrown grass and the front doors were locked. Did this place permanently close or awaiting new owners?"

Turns out, it was awaiting a new owner. Developer Merlyn Vandervort has confirmed to LakeExpo that he is in the process of purchasing The Regalia, with plans to fully renovate the property, rebranding it The Summit. When operating, The Regalia had 83 rooms. Vandervort plans to more than double that number.

Rezoning for the property was approved by the Camden County Commission on Thursday, Oct. 22, after receiving unanimous recommendation from the Planning & Zoning Commission.

"I have not taken ownership of the property yet, the rezoning was one of the things that had to get completed first," Vandervort confirmed in an email on Oct. 13. "Now it’s a matter of working a deal out with the current lender who foreclosed on the property."

On Friday, Vandervort said with the rezoning approved, "Now the tough work begins."

His plans for The Summit include:

• Extensive renovations of the existing hotel

• Adding another 128 luxury rooms

• Adding a 30,000 sq ft indoor activities complex — he mentioned pickleball specifically — and multiple outdoor courts

• Converting the current indoor tennis courts into a multi-purpose sports court

Vandervort was the original developer of Camden on the Lake Resort/The Horny Toad, which he sold years ago. He owns The Resort at Lake of the Ozarks and The Encore Lakeside Grill & Skybar.