The Westin New York Grand Central Hotel

Last updated

The Westin New York Grand Central
The Westin New York Grand Central 2022.jpg
Shot of the hotel from across East 42nd Street. The Daily News Building can be seen to the left.
The Westin New York Grand Central Hotel
Hotel chain Westin Hotels
General information
Location212 East 42nd Street
New York City, New York 10017
United States
Coordinates 40°45′00″N73°58′26″W / 40.75000°N 73.97389°W / 40.75000; -73.97389
OpeningFebruary 18, 1981
OwnerDavidson Kempner Capital Management
Management HEI Hotels & Resorts
Design and construction
Architect(s) Emery Roth & Sons
Developer Harry Helmsley
Website
www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/nyczw-the-westin-new-york-grand-central/

The Westin New York Grand Central is a 40-story, 800-room business-oriented hotel approximately two blocks west of the United Nations headquarters and a little more than one block east of Grand Central Terminal in New York City, New York.

Contents

History

The hotel was designed by Emery Roth & Sons and opened on February 18, 1981, as The Harley of New York - A Helmsley Hotel. Constructed by New York developer Harry Helmsley, the hotel's name was a combination of his own first name and that of his famous wife, Leona Helmsley. They co-owned the hotel with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The Helmsleys attended the opening, along with Mayor Ed Koch, but the inaugural luncheon that day was marred by an accidental fire, which necessitated the evacuation of the entire hotel and required 23 people to be treated for smoke inhalation. [1]

The Helmsleys purchased Hospitality Inns from Standard Oil of Ohio in 1981, renaming them to create a nationwide Harley Hotels chain [2] of 27 properties, [3] with the New York hotel as the flagship. Following a renovation, [4] the hotel was renamed The New York Helmsley in November 1985. [5]

Soon after Harry's death, Leona sold the remaining hotels in the Harley chain to a Philadelphia investment group in 1998 for $40 million. [6] After Leona's death in 2007, her estate sold The New York Helmsley Hotel to Host Hotels & Resorts in 2011 for $313.5 million. [7] The new owners contracted with Westin Hotels to manage the property, following an 18-month closure for a $75 million renovation, and the hotel became The Westin New York Grand Central on October 1, 2012. It was sold again on January 11, 2019, to Davidson Kempner Capital Management for $302 million. They plan to renovate it at a cost of $20 million and keep it under the Westin flag. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam's Mark</span> Defunct American hotel chain

Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts was a chain of upscale hotels in the United States. The company was headquartered in the HBE Corporation offices in Creve Coeur, Missouri, in Greater St. Louis. Fred Kummer founded the chain in the early 1970s, as well as its parent, HBE Corp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Helmsley</span> American businessman (1909–1997

Harry Brakmann Helmsley was an American real estate billionaire whose company, Helmsley-Spear, became one of the country's biggest property holders, owning the Empire State Building and many of New York's most prestigious hotels. His second marriage to Leona Roberts led to charges of false accounting and tax evasion as well as a celebrated trial, where Harry was judged too frail to plead, but Leona was fined and jailed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaza Hotel</span> Hotel in Manhattan, New York

The Plaza Hotel is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, and is between 58th Street and Central Park South, at the southeastern corner of Central Park. Its primary address is 768 Fifth Avenue, though the residential entrance is One Central Park South. Since 2018, the hotel has been owned by the Qatari firm Katara Hospitality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leona Helmsley</span> American businesswoman

Leona Roberts Helmsley was an American businesswoman. Her flamboyant personality and reputation for tyrannical behavior earned her the nickname Queen of Mean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westin Harbour Castle Hotel</span> Hotel in Toronto, Ontario

The Westin Harbour Castle Toronto is a large hotel opened in 1975 on the waterfront of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Westin Hotels chain within Marriott International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DoubleTree</span> American hotel chain managed by Hilton

DoubleTree by Hilton is an American hotel chain managed by Hilton Worldwide. DoubleTree has been the fastest growing Hilton brand by number of properties since 2007, and by number of rooms from 2007 to 2015. As of December 2019, it has 587 properties with 135,745 rooms in 47 countries and territories, including 122 that are managed with 35,122 rooms and 465 that are franchised with 100,623 rooms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tudor City</span> Apartment complex in Manhattan, New York

Tudor City is an apartment complex on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City, bordering the Turtle Bay and Murray Hill neighborhoods. Designed and developed by the Fred F. French Company, it lies on a low cliff east of Second Avenue, between 40th and 43rd Streets, and overlooks First Avenue to the east. Construction commenced in 1926, making it the first residential skyscraper complex in the world. Tudor City was one of the first and largest examples of a planned middle-class residential community in New York City. Named for its Tudor Revival architecture, the complex is a New York City designated landmark district and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westin Las Vegas</span> Hotel in Nevada, United States

The Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa is a hotel and former casino near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The Westin is owned by Highgate and Cerberus Capital Management, and uses the Westin brand under franchise from Marriott International. It is noteworthy for being one of the first Las Vegas resorts to prohibit smoking in almost all parts of the property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helmsley Building</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Helmsley Building is a 35-story skyscraper at 230 Park Avenue between East 45th and 46th Streets, just north of Grand Central Terminal, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It was built in 1929 as the New York Central Building and was designed by Warren & Wetmore in the Beaux-Arts style. It was the tallest structure in the "Terminal City" complex around Grand Central prior to the completion of what is now the MetLife Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JW Marriott Essex House</span> Hotel in Manhattan, New York

The JW Marriott Essex House is a luxury hotel at 160 Central Park South in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, at the southern border of Central Park. Opened in 1931, the hotel is 44 stories tall and contains 426 Art Deco–style rooms and 101 suites, as well as 147 condominium residences. It features a distinctive red neon rooftop sign.

Westin Hotels & Resorts is an American upscale hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, the Westin Brand has 226 properties with 82,608 rooms in multiple countries in addition to 58 hotels with 15,741 rooms in the pipeline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotte New York Palace Hotel</span> Hotel in Manhattan, New York

Lotte New York Palace Hotel is a luxury hotel in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, at the corner of 50th Street and Madison Avenue. It was originally developed between 1977 and 1980 by Harry Helmsley. The hotel consists of a portion of the Villard Houses, built in the 1880s by McKim, Mead & White, which are New York City designated landmarks and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It also includes a 51-story skyscraper designed by Emery Roth & Sons and completed in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilikai Hotel & Luxury Suites</span> Building in Honolulu, Hawaii

The Ilikai Hotel & Luxury Suites is a landmark oceanfront high rise hotel and condominium at the western end of Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii. When it opened in 1964, the Ilikai was the first luxury high rise hotel in Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyatt Regency San Francisco Downtown SOMA</span> Building in San Francisco, California

The Hyatt Regency San Francisco Downtown SOMA is a 36-story highrise hotel at 50 Third Street in San Francisco, California.

Omni Hotels & Resorts is an American privately held, international hotel company based in Dallas, Texas. The company was founded in 1958 as Dunfey Hotels, and operates 50 properties in the United States, Canada, and formerly had a property in Mexico, totaling over 20,010 rooms and employing more than 23,000 people.

Joyce Beber, born Joyce Sacks, was an advertising executive who co-founded the Beber Silverstein Group and created numerous memorable campaigns for the Helmsley group of hotels,. The campaigns successfully promoted Leona Helmsley and her hotel chain; Beber was hired and fired four times by Helmsley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park Lane Hotel (Manhattan)</span> Hotel in Manhattan, New York

The Park Lane Hotel is a New York City luxury hotel at 36 Central Park South, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Midtown Manhattan, overlooking Central Park. Constructed in 1971, the hotel was designed by the prolific architecture firm, Emery Roth & Sons, for prominent New York City real estate developer Harry Helmsley. The hotel operates under the ownership of Steve Witkoff’s real estate investment firm, the Witkoff Group. A supertall skyscraper has been planned for the site, though that has been placed on hold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Fairmont Washington, D.C.</span> Luxury hotel in Washington, D.C., United States

The Fairmont Washington, D.C. Georgetown is a luxury Postmodernist-style hotel located at 2401 M Street NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. The structure, in the West End neighborhood of the city, opened in December 1985 as The Westin Hotel. In December 1989, Westin sold the hotel to All Nippon Airways, which operated it as the ANA Hotel. Lowe Enterprises purchased the hotel in October 1998, and renamed it the Washington Monarch Hotel. A $12 million renovation followed in 1999. Lowe Enterprises sold the hotel to Legacy Hotels Real Estate Investment Trust in October 2002, and Legacy contracted with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts to manage the hotel. The hotel was renamed The Fairmont Washington, D.C. Legacy was itself purchased by Cadbridge Investors in July 2007 and the hotel sold to MetLife in 2014, although the property remained branded a Fairmont. A $27 million renovation was completed in January 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Westin Grand Berlin</span> Building in Berlin, Germany

The Westin Grand Berlin is a luxury business hotel located on Friedrichstraße in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany.

Trump Parc and Trump Parc East are two adjoining buildings at the southwest corner of Central Park South and Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Trump Parc is a 38-story condominium building, and Trump Parc East is a 14-story apartment and condominium building.

References

  1. Treaster, Joseph B. (February 19, 1981). "Harley Hotel Beset by Fire on Opening Day 14". The New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  2. Kanner, Bernice (March 12, 1984). "Life With Leona". New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. p. 42. Retrieved July 9, 2018 via Google Books.
  3. "Helmsley has good instinct". The Daily Chronicle. De Kalb, Illinois. March 8, 1984. p. 25. Retrieved April 8, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  4. Landers, Peggy (December 27, 1985). "Leona, Queen Of Helmsley--hotels, That Is". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  5. Lippert, Barbara (November 14, 1985). "Meet Leona Helmsley, the undisputed queen of New York". Poughkeepsie Journal. p. 3D. Retrieved July 9, 2018 via Newspapers.com.
  6. Grant, Peter (December 18, 1998). "Parting With Harley Leona Will Pocket About 40M for Hotel Chain". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  7. Hudson, Kris (January 25, 2011). "Another Helmsley Property Sold Off". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  8. Bockmann, Rich (January 11, 2019). "Asset manager Davidson Kempner to upgrade Westin Grand Central hotel". The Real Deal.