American investment giant Blackstone’s Real Estate Partners Europe said it has a deal to buy five Greek island hotels from the Louis Group, one of the leading hotel groups in the Mediterranean, for some $196.27 million.

The hotels include two on Corfu (Corcyra Beach and Grand Hotel,) two on Zakynthos (Zante (Zante Beach and Plagos Beach) and one on Crete (Creta Princess,” said Hotel Business, a combined total of 1,464 rooms on popular destinations.

The hotels will continue to be operated by Louis Group under the management of HIP, a hospitality company owned by funds managed by Blackstone. HIP is the largest owner of hotels in Southern Europe, and the acquisition expands its footprint to Greece, the site noted.

Through HIP, Blackstone will renovate the hotels, the report said.James Seppala, head of European real estate at Blackstone, said: “This transaction reflects our confidence in the Greek investment environment, and we hope to invest further.”

Greece, on a run of consecutive record tourism seasons, has become a top destination for five-star hotels and resorts for the wealthy with more properties being built even on islands not known for drawing Americans, such as Tzia, an hour from the Greek mainland.

Costakis Loizou, Chairman of Louis Group, added: “The transformation of these hotels will be a boost for the Greek tourist sector, and we look forward to working with both Blackstone and HIP to enhance the experience of guests staying in these hotels.”

Alejandro Hernandez-Puertolas, CEO and founding partner of HIP, said: “With this acquisition, we see an opportunity to add value by investing and actively managing the hotel businesses as we have done with the rest of our HIP portfolio.” The agreement must be approved by anti-trust officials before it’s completed officially.