“My theme today is five words: under budget and ahead of schedule,” said Donald Trump about his new Washington, D.C. hotel (using six words, but who’s counting).
If he had only stuck to his day job. One wonders what might have been for this grand opening. The Trump brand has taken such a hit in recent months that even the mayor of Washington, D.C. skipped the ceremonies.
And that’s too bad, because this new five-star luxury hotel has brought an iconic downtown building back to life. At a cost of $200 million, the Trump International Hotel has turned the 1899 Romanesque Revival-style Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue, just blocks from the White House, into something marvelous.
The hotel is really a showcase for Trump’s 34-year-old daughter Ivanka. She helped negotiate the $3 million-a-year lease of the government-owned building and oversaw its redevelopment and design.
The menu, like most things in Washington, isn’t cheap. Tater tots will run you $27, while the lower-priced “hipster fries”—piled high with shishito peppers, beef jerky and Parmesan—will set you back $16. You can also get wine by the spoonful, starting at $15 per spoon. Even among this high-priced menu, one item stands out: the “Trump Tower,” a cocktail featuring a pound of lobster, eight oysters, four shrimp and blue crab. It costs $120.
Rooms start at $860 a night for a deluxe room and go up to $12,000 a night for the presidential suite with unrestricted access to all amenities. Booking the Trump townhouse with amenities can set guests back $25,050 a night. There’s also the very first Ivanka Suite, which costs $1,050 a night.
The Presidential Ballroom, with access both through the hotel and from the street, has nine meeting rooms and a total of 13,200 square feet that can be partitioned.
“We will be sold out for inauguration,’’ said Mickael Damelincourt, the hotel’s managing director. It is not believed that any of the Hillary Clinton party will be staying there if she happens to beat Trump, as all major polls suggest, next month.
The Washington hotel is controlled by Trump and his family. Donald Trump owns 77 percent of an entity called Trump Old Post Office LLC, which leased the property from the government, and Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric each own 7 percent, a financial disclosure document shows.
The Trump Organization won a 60-year lease from the federal government to transform the Old Post Office into a hotel.
The fact the Republican nominee took time off from campaigning in the battleground states raised some eyebrows today, especially considering his running-mate Mike Pence is spending time in traditionally red Utah where the GOP is having difficulty locking up the 6 electoral votes. Trump immediately flew to North Carolina following the ceremony.
Campaigning in Florida, a must-win state for Trump, Hillary Clinton was quick to attack the hotel.
“Most of the products in the rooms were made overseas, and he even sued to get his taxes lowered,” said Clinton who appeared in Tampa with José Andrés, the chef who pulled his restaurant venture from Trump’s Washington hotel in response to his caustic comments about Mexican immigrants at the start of his campaign last year.
Trump is suing Andrés for $10 million, while Andrés is counter-suing the billionaire for $8 million.
With just 13 days to go until the election, Trump seemed to address directly his critics.
“The future lies with the dreamers, not the cynics and the critics,” said Trump. “Everywhere I go in this country, all I see is untapped potential waiting to be set free, and the biggest element of all is our incredible people.”