Checking out.

Hotel mogul Lewis Wolff has put one of his prized hotels, Santa Monica's Fairmont Miramar, up for sale.

The 302-room Fairmont Miramar will likely fetch a record-setting price since it's a rare opportunity to buy a high-end hotel in Santa Monica that's close to the beach, hotel brokers say.

Wolff said even though he cherishes the property, he couldn't miss out on the chance to sell the hotel during a high point in the hospitality market, which has been performing at its best level in six years. Eastdil Secured has the listing.

"This is my favorite," said Wolff, who owns high-end hotels around the country. "But there's a time to sell and a time to buy. This is a good time to sell."

As room rates and occupancies have rebounded, so too have the prices real estate investors are willing to pay for the properties.

Already this year, the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Nagel sold for $840,000 a room, while the Westin St. Francis off San Francisco's Union Square recently sold for $690,000 a room.

Even so, Santa Monica's hotel market, typically one of the strongest in L.A. County, has been performing as well--if not better--than hotels in those markets, said Alan Reay, president of Irvine-based hotel consultancy and brokerage firm Atlas Hospitality Group.

According to March data from PKF Consulting, a firm that tracks hotel performance, Santa Monica had the second-best performing market in L.A. County after Beverly Hills.

Santa Monica hotels were getting $259 a night in March, while hotels countywide received on average $146.

"This will be one of the biggest hotel transaction stories of the year in Los Angeles," said Reay. "You are going to see all the big players come out for this one."

Reay believes the Fairmont Miramar will attract minimum bids of $500,000 a room, netting at least $150 million. Wolff laughed at that figure. "I'm not naming a price but I wouldn't sell it for that."