Trump Hotel Opens Close to White House in Downtown Washington

Washington: A renovated historic building in downtown Washington which served as a post office a few blocks away from the White House opened quietly as a "Trump Hotel".

"It's really going to be a great tribute to our country," said Donald Trump, a real estate mogul from New York, is known for building or renovating several iconic properties across the globe, including in India.

Hoping to win the November general elections as a Republican presidential nominee, Trump is eyeing to be a resident of the White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue -- on January 20, 2017. However, he became a resident of a few blocks away on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the US Capitol.

"The hotel is magnificent. There has never been a hotel like this or even close in Washington. In addition, we built the largest luxury ball room in Washington and meeting rooms and spas," he said.

The hotel, where one night's accommodation is expected to cost USD 700, has been completed two years ahead of schedule and less than the original budget.

"We are way ahead of schedule and the quality is even better than we thought and we're right on budget and it's been a great thing. I'd like the country to go ahead of schedule and on budget or under budget would be great," Trump said.

"But we will be opening one of the great hotels of the year. It's a truly incredible building, the most sought after -- I believe the most sought after project in the history of the GSA -- that's General Services (Administration) -- from the government. Got it from the government," he said.

The building was previously a post office, which was auctioned off during the first term of the Obama Administration as part of the government's effort to streamline its real-estate.

With Trump being busy in election, the project was handled by his daughter Ivanka.

"She led it and I saw it on Saturday. I walked through. We had at least a thousand people -- workers in the lobby. We gave the speech and then they went right back to work because we have the opening," he said.

"It has been an amazing project and the whole country is talking about it and it's a soft opening. The main opening we're going to save for just before election time. I thought that would be a good time. But we actually have a soft opening today," Trump was quoted as saying by the Fox News.