Royal Sonesta Washington DC Dupont Circle
View of the hotel from southwest.
General information
Typeboutique hotel
Address2121 P Street Northwest
Town or cityWashington, D.C.
CountryUnited States
Coordinates38°54′35″N 77°02′50″W / 38.9098°N 77.0473°W / 38.9098; -77.0473
Opened1967
Other information
Number of rooms335
Website
https://www.sonesta.com/us/district-columbia/washington/royal-sonesta-washington-dc-dupont-circle

The Royal Sonesta Washington DC Dupont Circle is a 335-room, boutique hotel located at 2121 P Street Northwest in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

History

The Georgetown Hotel opened in 1967. It was constructed by Washington banker Leo M. Bernstein, one of the pioneers in redeveloping the Georgetown neighborhood as a posh residential district.[1]

In 1985, Bernstein sold the property to Omni Hotels,[2] and it became the Omni Georgetown Hotel.[3] Omni sold the hotel soon after to Bethesda-based Nordheimer Brothers Co., but continued to manage the property. In December 1988, Perpetual Savings Bank, which already held a $10 million second mortgage on the hotel, bought the $20 million first mortgage from Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co.[4] Perpetual foreclosed on the hotel in 1991 and became the owner, but Perpetual failed soon after and went into receivership, causing the hotel to become the property of the U.S. government-owned Resolution Trust Corporation in January 1992.

The RTC sold the hotel at auction in August 1992, with Spanish-based Hoteles Barceló S.A. placing the winning bid of $13.7 million.[5] The hotel was renamed Barceló Washington Hotel. Soon after, Barceló retained Radisson Hotels to manage the property, and it became the Radisson Barceló Hotel Washington.

Kimpton Hotels bought the property in November 2004 for $40 million, and temporarily renamed it the Dupont Circle Hotel in July 2005,[6] while it underwent a $32 million renovation that added 34 guest rooms, bringing the total to 335.[7] On August 22, 2006, the hotel became the Kimpton Hotel Palomar Washington DC.[8]

The hotel was sold to the Massachusetts-based Service Properties Trust in 2019 for $141.5 million. That company owns a 1/3 stake in Sonesta Hotels,[9] and renamed the property the Royal Sonesta Washington DC Dupont Circle on December 1, 2020.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Michael Kernan (1984-10-11). "Tribute to a Housing Wizard". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  2. ↑ Richard Lee (1985-12-21). "On P Street, the Last Hurrah of Herb's". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  3. ↑ Chuck Conconi (1985-12-20). "Personalities". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  4. ↑ Sharon Warren Walsh (1988-03-14). "TOO MUCH ROOM AT INNS RESULTS IN HOTEL INDUSTRY SHAKEOUT". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  5. ↑ David S. Hilzenrath (1992-08-27). "RTC AUCTIONS OFF THE OMNI GEORGETOWN". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  6. ↑ "Kimpton's Acquisition Fund Acquires First Property, the Former Radisson Barcelo Hotel in Washington D.C.; Hotel Will Receive $32 million Renovation to Transform to Hotel Palomar / July 2005".
  7. ↑ "Hotel Palomar debuts with $32M redo | Washington Business Journal". Archived from the original on 2011-06-04.
  8. ↑ "Kimpton opens Washington's Hotel Palomar: Travel Weekly".
  9. ↑ "Service Properties Trust Moves Past Disruption of Sonesta Conversions". 6 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "Palomar hotel in Dupont Circle to drop Kimpton flag, reopen under new management". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
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