The Elysian To Become A Waldorf-Astoria

November 17, 2011 at 9:37 AM | by ASchechter | Comments (0)

Maybe it's all the bangin' new hotels popping up on the scene (Public Chicago, Radisson Blu, the forthcoming Virgin). Or maybe it's just Chicago's general swagger. Whatever the reason, Waldorf-Astoria has just added a Chi-town hotel to its collection. Specifically, the Elysian.

The style-conscious hotel, which opened a year and a half ago, was reportedly having money issues, and one of its investors wanted out. According to USA Today, billionaire Sam Zell stepped in to purchase the property for $95 million�with hopes that Waldorf-Astoria, and, as an extension, Hilton Worldwide, can get the place back on its feet.

Sadly, Marc Jacobs himself displayed no interest in scooping up the hotel.

What we hope now�or, we should say, what we fear now�is that the hotel's rates don't suddenly sky-rocket into Waldorf-Astoria territory. Elysian was keeping things cool with $425-a-night rooms, which, though not cheap, was fair for the space's "eclectic millionaire's mansion" vibe. Anything more than that might tip the hotel into even greater obscurity.

No word yet on when the change will happen, or if it will affect reservations.

UPDATE, Friday 7:39am:

The Chicago Sun-Times has confirmed that Sam Zell did indeed purchase the hotel through funds operated by his Equity Group Investments, which "specializes in the debt on financially troubled assets."

Furthermore, the hotel will re-open as the Waldorf-Astoria Chicago on Feb 1. According to the article, the hotel has not made a dime since opening, despite being named one of the top hotels in the world by Conde Nast Traveler.

[Photo: HotelChatter]

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