New York City’s first JW Marriott hotel officially opened on Tuesday in what was previously the Jumeirah Essex House.
The 40-story hotel, which opened in 1931 as the Park Tower Hotel and was later named the Essex House, has 509 rooms and will get a new executive lounge by early next year.
Marriott reached an agreement to manage the iconic hotel last month after Strategic Hotels & Resorts agreed to acquire the property from the Dubai government for $362.3 million. Strategic Hotels said it would spend about $18 million upgrading the property.
Additionally, Marriott named Stephen Batta, former general manager of the Renaissance New York Hotel 57, as the JW Marriott’s new GM.
The hotel had operated as the Jumeirah Essex House since the Dubai government bought the property in 2006. Marriott had previously managed the hotel between 1969 and 1984.
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