Watergate Hotel to host its first guests in 7 years

Washington

THE new owners of the Watergate Hotel in Washington plan to reopen it next summer, hoping to draw luxury-seeking travellers to a location in the infamous complex that has been closed for years after a previous redevelopment effort ended in foreclosure.

Designed by Italian architect Luigi Moretti and first opened in 1967, the hotel is part of the office and residential complex made famous by the 1972 burglary that led to president Richard Nixon's resignation. After falling into disrepair, the hotel was purchased by Washington developer Monument Realty during the go-go years of the real estate bubble. Monument planned to turn the property into condominiums but it fell into foreclosure during the real estate bust and was purchased at auction by Euro Capital Properties for US$45 million in 2010.