The iconic Waldorf Astoria New York is set to close its doors this winter as it prepares to undergo a massive two-year renovation.
USA Today reported the five-star Manhattan hotel will close March 1 before receiving much-needed modernizing upgrades that won't jeopardize the historic charm that has made it such a hit with guests over the course of its 80-plus-year existence.
"We had no choice. It has to be classic, but it's an 85-year-old building," the hotel's managing director Michael Hoffmann told USA Today.
The extensive renovation will include the implementation of new technologies that should help the hotel compete against more modern properties.
"We will have more technology, more sophistication," Waldorf Towers Chef Concierge Michael Romei told USA Today. "It's going to be a super luxury landmark in the city. It always will be."
The renovation will come just over two years after China's Anbang Insurance Group completed its $1.95 billion purchase of the hotel from Hilton Worldwide.
[READMORE] READ MORE: NYC's Iconic Waldorf Astoria to Possibly Be Converted into Private Apartments [/READMORE]
"Our relationship with Anbang will ensure the Waldorf Astoria New York will continue to be a marquee hotel for the Waldorf brand long into the future, and will enable Hilton Worldwide and Anbang to build on the hotel's rich legacy and traditions," Hilton Worldwide president and CEO Christopher Nassetta said in a statement back in February 2015.
At the time, Anbang revealed it was planning a major renovation for the 1,400-plus-room hotel. More recently, this past summer, sources close to the situation told the Wall Street Journal that restoration efforts called for more than 1,000 rooms to be converted to private residences at a cost in excess of $1 billion.
However, a spokesman for Anbang told the Journal the company would "explore all options" and had "no definitive plans at this time."
The hotel, which has been an official New York City landmark for more than two decades, is currently operated by Hilton.
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