Few buildings in Washington have changed hands as often, or as publicly, as the Old Post Office in the past fifteen years. Here is the hotel era told in order, without the spin.
Winning the lease
When GSA issued its request for proposals in March 2011, the competition drew bids from several major hotel and real estate groups. In February 2012 the agency selected the Trump Organization. Its plan was a luxury hotel of roughly 260 rooms, a ballroom, restaurants and a spa, with the light court as the lobby and the clock tower kept open to the public. A long-term ground lease followed in 2013, after the NEPA review and the Section 106 consultation.
The selection drew on a long history. Donald Trump's company had built and run large hotel-casinos in Atlantic City in the 1980s and 1990s, an experience we cover in Trump's Atlantic City casinos. A Washington hotel would not have gaming, since the District has never licensed a casino, but the scale and the showmanship were familiar.
Building the hotel
Work began in 2014 with a ceremonial groundbreaking in the summer. The renovation, reported at around $200 million, restored the facades and windows, cleaned the granite, rebuilt the interior floors as guest rooms and turned the court into a lobby with a bar. Not every planned tenant stayed: the chef José Andrés pulled out of a planned restaurant in 2015, which led to a lawsuit that was later settled.
The Trump International years, 2016–2022
The Trump International Hotel opened in September 2016, with a formal opening in late October, weeks before the presidential election. After January 2017 it became a gathering place for political figures, lobbyists and visiting delegations, which made it both popular and controversial. Lawsuits argued that the arrangement raised questions under the Constitution's emoluments clauses; they ended without a final ruling on the merits after the presidency ended. Congressional committees and GSA's inspector general also examined the lease.
The sale of the lease, 2022
In 2019 the Trump Organization announced that it was exploring a sale. The deal closed in May 2022, when CGI Merchant Group acquired the lease for a price widely reported at $375 million, with GSA's approval. Within weeks the hotel reopened as the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC, the first property of Hilton's luxury brand in the capital. New restaurants arrived, including outlets from José Andrés, the chef who had walked away from the project seven years earlier.
Foreclosure and federal sale, 2024–2026
The new owners struggled with their debt. After a loan default, the leasehold went to the lender, BDT & MSD Partners, at a foreclosure auction in August 2024, with a reported credit bid of about $100 million. Hilton kept running the hotel. In June 2026 GSA announced that it had sold the building and land outright to BDT & MSD, ending more than 125 years of federal ownership. GSA did not announce the price; press reports put it at around $80 million.
| Period | Name | Control |
|---|---|---|
| 2016–2022 | Trump International Hotel | Trump Organization, under a federal ground lease |
| 2022–2024 | Waldorf Astoria Washington DC | CGI Merchant Group, lease; Hilton management |
| 2024–2026 | Waldorf Astoria Washington DC | BDT & MSD Partners, lease; Hilton management |
| Since June 2026 | Waldorf Astoria Washington DC | BDT & MSD Partners, owner; Hilton management |
What it means for visitors
The hotel lobby in the old light court can be seen by anyone who visits its bars and restaurants. The tower has its own entrance: closed by the National Park Service on October 1, 2025, it reopened in July 2026 with the hotel in charge. See visiting the clock tower for the latest we know. If you want to combine the building with a night of gaming, the nearest casino resort is across the Maryland line, described in our DC weekend guide.