The Waldorf Astoria is a luxury hotel located in New York City that is a historical landmark of New York. The hotel was originally designed by Henry Hardenbergh on Fifth Avenue by the Empire State Building. Eventually, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts began to start popping up in other locations but nothing can beat the beautiful New York Location that offer 1,413 rooms, has three restaurants, and is an amazing place to stay at. Recently, the famed Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York was sold, for a record setting price of $1.95 billion, and will change ownership soon.
The Waldorf Astoria had been owned by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. for more than 50 years. They originally purchased the property in 1949 but have now sold the Waldorf Astoria to the Anbang Insurance Group Co, which is a top insurance firm from China. At the $1.95 billion price tag, this is the largest property deal for Chinese buyers in the United States while also being the single most expensive hotel ever sold in America.
The transaction breaks down into paying an $100 million deposit and putting $525 million towards the hotel’s mortgage, which means the Waldorf Astoria hotel is costing Anbang Insurance Group right around $1.4 million per room. While Hilton will still be the on sight company that is running the company, the hope is that under Anbang’s ownership, the hotel will continue to provide a top notch experience for guests with plenty of fresh financial backing.
The sale of the Waldorf Astoria New York to a Chinese company is definitely a big deal because the Chinese have all of the money to spend and invest; however, it has been pointed out that the hotel was bought buy an insurance company rather than a building or hotel company, which is unusually interesting. Regardless, the deal should be completed by the end of 2015 at the latest and the luxurious Waldorf Astoria hotel will see much needed renovations.
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