Waldorf Astoria's Chinese owners plan to sell iconic NYC hotel, WSJ reports

The Chinese owners of the iconic Waldorf Astoria in ​New York City are preparing to ​put the luxury hotel up for ‌sale, months ​after it reopened following a multibillion-dollar overhaul, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The Park Avenue landmark, reopened in November after an 8-year ‌renovation from a 1,400-room hotel to 375 hotel guest rooms and 372 residences. The transformation was five years behind schedule and more than $1 billion over the initial budget.

The hotel was the setting for the ‌film "Weekend at the Waldorf", starring Ginger Rogers, and its $1,000-a-week Suite 2728 was home to Marilyn Monroe ‌in 1955 after she left Hollywood. Waldorf's adjoining restaurants, shops and other amenities would be included in a sale, but the condos would continue to be sold separately, the report added, citing people with knowledge of the plans.

Hilton Worldwide, which ⁠has a ​100-year management contract for ⁠the hotel, sold the property in 2014 to Anbang Insurance Group, a reinsurance firm based in China, for $1.95 billion, making ⁠it one of the most expensive hotel sales ever. The group spent an additional $2 billion on construction, bringing the ​total to more than $4 billion.

The Chinese state-run Dajia Insurance Group was later appointed to ⁠manage Anbang's assets after its CEO, Wu Xiaohui, was prosecuted for economic crimes. The seller doesn't expect to get all ⁠its ​costs back on a sale, however, with an expected billion-dollar-plus price tag, only a small cadre of potential buyers would be able to afford the flagship property for Hilton's Waldorf luxury ⁠brand, the WSJ report added.

Hilton told Reuters that it does not own the hotel but manages the ⁠property, and directed questions ⁠about the sale to the hotel's owner, Strategic Hotels & Resorts. While Waldorf Astoria and Dajia Insurance Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment, ‌Strategic Hotels & Resorts could ‌not be reached.