The four-diamond Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa was sold to an Irvine-based private firm for an undisclosed amount Wednesday making it one of the few hotel sales in the second half of the year.

The sale of the 210-room Spanish hacienda-style hotel located on Torrey Pines Road in La Jolla to the Pacific Hospitality Group was one of the few hotel sales in San Diego in the last six months, said Alan Reay of Atlas Hospitality Group, which tracks California hotel sales.

He said after a strong start to 2011, hotel sales dried up as declines in the stock market hurt some of the larger investors.

Reay said what makes the Estancia sale even more interesting is that it was purchased by a smaller group rather than a real estate investment trust (REIT), which have made the majority of hotel purchases this year, including the $475 million sale of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront in April.

While the Estancia sale was not as large as the Hilton sale, Reay said it is significant because it shows smaller players are starting to enter the market.