New York: After a lot of deliberations, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is all set to visit US from Sept 23 to Sept 28, will stay at Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York
Indian prime ministers have a long tradition of staying at the iconic New York Palace Hotel during their visits to the US. PM Modi had also stayed there during his last year visit to the US.
Meanwhile, the US President Barack Obama will also break the traditional norm of staying at Waldorf Astoria in New York and instead, he will stay at the New York Palace Hotel when he will arrive to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting, The White House confirmed on Sunday.
Modi’s upcoming stay at Waldorf Astoria is generating too much media attention as the same hotel was rejected by Obama on the fears of spying or bugging. Waldorf Astoria was earlier owned by Hilton Worldwide Holdings but it was purchased by a Chinese insurance firm, Anbang Insurance company in 2014.
Earlier, The Pierre, a Taj hotel in New York was being considered to accommodate Modi and his entourage but due to the non availability of banquet facility, another hotel was being searched. Banquet facility is considered an essential requirement for the Indian delegation, HT reported.
On late Wednesday evening, Sept 16, it was finally decided that PM and his entourage will stay at Waldorf Astoria.
Interestingly, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have also booked their suites at Waldorf Astoria, during the UNGA high-level segment.
The New York Palace Hotel was bought by the Koreans earlier this year.
For many years, PMO’s favourite hotel has been the iconic New York Palace Hotel. During his last year visit to New York, PM Modi had stayed at the luxurious New York Palace Hotel.
PM Modi will be in New York till Sept 25, after which he will head to Silicon Valley in California.
After the San Jose event, Modi flies back to New York for a summit meeting with US President Barack Obama on Sept 28.
Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit California after Morarji Desai in 1978. Jawahar Lal Nehru was the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the West Coast.