The St. Regis Hotel, one of Washington’s oldest and most expensive luxury hotels, will close its doors today for an 18-month renovation. The hotel, which will remain under St. Regis management, is expected to reopen in late 2007.
New York-based Starwood Hotels & Resorts sold the 193-room property last summer in a joint-venture deal for $47 million to New York-based real estate investors Brickman Associates and New Valley Corp. The sale was part of Starwood’s overall strategy to sell off billions in assets and reinvest in the company.
“When the hotel was sold last year, the aim of the new owners was to fully renovate the hotel and bring it up to the standards of the St. Regis brand,” said Andre Jacques, director of sales and marketing for The St. Regis.
The renovations will include more than $2.6 million to upgrade guest rooms, which will be expanded and reduced from 193 to 178 totalrooms. In addition, the St. Regis will add its signature brand spa, Remede.
When the hotel reopens, it will be better-equipped to compete in the competitive luxury market, Jacques said. Competitors for D.C. overnight dollars include the Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton and The Willard InterContinental.
“Post-renovation, we’ll be able to go after markets that we haven’t been able to before,” Jacques said.
The hotel is closing at a time when travel is up in the Washington region. Total travel expenditures are expected to approach $700 million by the end of 2007, up from $600 million in 2004, according to figures from the Washington, D.C. Convention & Tourism Corp.
The hotel employs about 200 people, most of whom will not work through the renovation.
“We value our associates highly and we have made every effort to relocate our employees based on their skills and abilities,” Jacques said, but he declined to say whether all had been placed.
Starwood owns multiple hotel brands in the Washington region, including several Westin hotels and the Four Points by Sheraton.
