In an email blast on the eve of the New Hampshire primary, Donald Trump's real estate company announced that the sometimes-controversial Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., a few blocks away from the White House, would open in September, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The project, which occupies the the Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Avenue, has been a feature of Trump's speeches on the campaign trail, as the billionaire businessman has sought to prove his claims as a master negotiator and even somebody who would work with the federal government.
"For decades people have looked in wonderment at the magnificence of the Old Post Office building and structure. There is nothing like it and we are so proud to have not only brought this incredible building back to life, but also to a position far greater than it ever was at its previous zenith," Trump said in a statement, according to Politico. "It was an honor to have dealt with the professionals at the General Services Administration. It was their total passion and hard work that helped bring this unrivaled project to fruition."
The 263-rooms will include 35 suites and one 6,300-square-foot suite, the Trump Townhouse, which will have its own entrance on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Trump Organizations also said the hotel will have a 13,200-square-foot ballroom - the largest luxury ballroom in Washington, D.C.
However, the project has also had its fair share of problems, as well. The hotel will have two restaurants, one a steakhouse from the BLT chain of restaurants, and another whose operator has not been identified after celebrity chef José Andrés and New York-based chef Geoffrey Zakarian both withdrew from deals to open restaurants in the hotel after Trump made disparaging comments about immigrants on the campaign trail, Washington Business Journal reported. Lawsuits regarding those deals are still pending.
