Gotta hand it to Donald Trump—the guy’s got a knack for timing. On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, which he won handily last night, a press release comes out saying his hotel at the Old Post Office Building on Pennsylvania Avenue is due to open this September—in time for the Inauguration.
“Trump International Hotel Set to Open Two Years Ahead of Schedule” was the headline on the press release, but it was clear early on that the hotel would open by the election, even though its contract with the General Services Administration issued a 2018 deadline. A 2014 story in the Washington Post detailed how Trump was teaming with a marketing firm to sell options for the right to reserve a room for the 2017 Inauguration; spokeswoman Ariana Squillacciotti confirmed Wednesday that the Trumps are still engaged with that company.
So, with the first big primary results in, will Trump have more than a hotel to celebrate next winter? No matter whose motorcade comes down Pennsylvania Avenue after the swearing in on Jan. 20, though, here’s an idea of what Trump’s hotel guests will be experiencing as they watch the parade pass by.
Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka hired Beyer Blinder Belle as the architects of record on this dramatic renovation, and the interior design consultants are Hirsch Bedner Associates, who were also responsible for the interiors at the Mandarin Oriental across town, in addition to Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, and Four Seasons properties around the world (not to mention the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Vanderbilt Mansion on Fisher Island in Miami’s Biscayne Bay). I can’t wait to see how these renderings take shape in real life.
Trump’s name will be big—Huge!—come this fall. We’ll see if it goes beyond the hotel’s marquee.