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Will The New York Helmsley Hotel Turn Into a Westin?

Where: 212 E 42nd St [map], New York, NY, United States, 10017

UPDATE: Host Hotels has indeed bought the Helmsley and will turn it into a Westin in mid-2012.

It looks like the Queen of Mean aka Leona Helmsley's New York hotel empire is finally disintegrating. Last May, the Helmsley Middletowne close down and now it looks like the New York Helmsley Hotel on East 42nd Street will be turned into a Westin Hotel.

A covert tipster told us that Marriott Hotels' Host Hotels group would be buying the property but putting in a Westin instead. (Despite the affiliation with Marriott, Host uses a variety of hotel brands to run their properties.)

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Hotel Renovations / Leona Helmsley / Manhattan Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags

Bringing Helmsley Back to Life (The Hotel, Anyways)

Where: 212 E 42nd St [map], New York, ny, United States, 10017

The good folks who inherited the task of managing The New York Helmsley Hotel (sadly, not little fluffball millionaire Trouble—how awesome would that be?) would like to share the news that they are bringing the hotel’s lobby, bar, and restaurant into the 21st century.

At least, it sounds that way. A PR rep for the property admits that the lobby area “was stuck in its 1981 time warp,” and pointed us towards a blog describing some of the upgrades. They include individual registration desks and Macassar Ebony wood chairs (“no more Fort Apache-style check-in desk”), a sculptural Barovier & Toso Murano Italian glass chandelier, and walls of decorative Bisazza mosaic tile, East Indian Rosewood and Venetian plaster.

Hmm, it all sounds very Helmsley-ian 80s fabulous to us.

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Tax Relief Deals / Leona Helmsley / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags

Leona Helmsley To Cover Your Room Tax From the Grave

Where: 212 E. 42nd Street [map], New York, ny, United States, 10017

If only hotel mogul Leona Helmsley — who famously said, "Only the little people pay taxes" — had served those 18 months of punishment in the slammer in 2009, she might have been a celebrated pop culture icon worthy of some good Daily Show and The Soup fodder.

Regardless, the late, great "Queen of Mean" certainly knows how to keep it newsworthy just in time for tax season. April 15th might as well be named Leona Helmsley Day as the New York Helmsley Hotel is offering tax-free rooms cheekily in her honor on the very day most of us file. Not too shabby considering New York city tax went up to 5.875 percent from 5 percent back in March.

That's right guests, now you too can dodge tax payment, only this time let Mrs. Helmsley's estate foot the tax bill for a night. (That's a savings of $50 on a $250 badly-in-need-of-renovations room.) How is that for some afterlife irony? Just stay away from Trouble.

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PM Linkage: Ding, Dong, Leona Helmsley's Dead

Links:
· Leona Helmsley, dead at 87 [NYTimes]
· The Life and Times of Leona Helmsley [Wikipedia]
· How her husband Harry started it all [Wikipedia]
· The New York Palace was Leona's old haunt [Official Site]
· The remaining Helmsley Hotels [Helmsley Hotels]