The Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., is no more. Its sale to the Miami investment group CGI Merchant closed on Wednesday; the space, in the Old Post Office building, will now become a Waldorf Astoria. (The deal — for a “record-setting” $375 million, per the Washington Post — will enable Trump to pay off a $170 million loan to Deutsche Bank, even though the hotel lost money in the four years of his presidency.) The hotel’s closure marks the end of an era, specifically the era of people using its Yelp reviews to fight about their politics.
“We loved the enormous American Flag and the large chandeliers in the atrium,” wrote one Yelp five-star reviewer. “They serve Jelly Beans, nuts, and potato chips as their bar snacks,” another noted, awed by the selection: “I’ve never seen Jelly Beans @ a bar before — but maybe that’s the key to Making America Great Again!?” Another patron raved about seeing Donald and Melania at the hotel they owned, writing, “I kid you not everyone in the restaurant as well as downstairs in the massive Lobby and bar area jumped up started blissfully screaming, clapping, yelling, praising you name it … it was an incredible experience.”
And then there were the haters. “The price here is higher than other, better hotels,” one reviewer wrote in March. “I guess we the owners just want to profit from their name. Plenty of options available to the Capital [sic].” “The décor is tacky as hell with T branding everywhere,” another critic offered. “They might as well stamp a golden letter T across your forehead the second you walk into their door.” One woman, who claims she went because all the other hotels were full, said she stayed there with her girlfriend: “Yes gf, clearly we snuck in, suck it trump.” One noted simply: “It reeks.” (Pro-hotelier reviewers complained that the complaints were “fake.”)
In the end, Yelper Thomas P. broke the news of the hotel’s fate in April. It is currently the top and final review. “Sad to see it go,” he wrote. “Waldorf is taking over this Hotel starting Monday.”
