Anbang To Close Iconic Waldorf Astoria For Renovations

The hotel is a popular destination for celebrities and others looking for a luxury stay in NY.

Chinese acquirer Anbang Insurance Group-the company that unsuccessfully bid on Starwood Hotels & Resorts-plans to upgrade 300 to 500 guest rooms to “luxury standards” and sell the remaining units as condominiums, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources close to the matter.

Anbang representatives didn’t immediately respond to calls for comment placed before regular business hours in Beijing, where the insurer is based. The luxury hotel, which has about 1,500 employees, is managed by Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc.

The Park Avenue hotel opened 85 years ago, at the time the world’s tallest hotel at 47 floors, as well as the largest. In March, it purchased Strategic Hotels & Resorts – whose portfolio includes prestige properties such as the Fairmont Scottsdale in Arizona, the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco and the Hotel Del Coronado near San Diego- from Blackstone Group for $6.5 billion. One analyst has estimated that a conversion to condos could raise as much as $4 billion in sales, the Journal noted.

Anbang, relatively unknown in the US, represents part of a wave of Chinese companies and individuals who are snapping up American real estate.

The Waldorf Astoria New York, while still iconic, has been in need of a makeover for many years. Over five years, Chinese investors have spent more than $110 billion to purchase residential and commercial real estate in the USA, partly because of the view that America represents a safe haven.