U.S. Grant Hotel filed for protection under...

U.S. Grant Hotel filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy laws. The filing will give the landmark downtown San Diego hotel a “four-month grace period,” according to hotel manager Chris Venner. Sybedon Corp., the hotel’s New York-based managing general partner, “fully expects” the hotel to emerge from Chapter 11 proceedings, Venner said. The hotel was scheduled to be sold on the San Diego County Courthouse steps Wednesday unless Sybedon made its delinquent $32-million mortgage loan current. The Grant, a four-star luxury hotel, has suffered from high debt and lower-than-expected occupancy rates since opening in 1986 after a four-year, $64-million refurbishment.