“Obama slept here” may not be a big tourist draw just yet, but it’s key for one of only two hotels where the sitting president can stay when he’s in the city.
The InterContinental New York Barclay, in the heart of Manhattan at 111 E. 48th St., is renovating and expanding its Presidential Suite as it lays claim to some luster worthy of the Lincoln Bedroom.
For the first time, Obama stayed at the InterContinental earlier this year instead of the rival Waldorf Astoria, where other famous presidents have bedded down during their Oval Office stints.
The InterContinental is making a pitch for White House business while the Waldorf is sidelined over a pending sale to Chinese buyers. Hilton Worldwide Holdings, owned by buyout shop Blackstone Group, has agreed to sell the hotel to Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group for $1.95 billion.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States this month opened a formal probe into whether the pending sale poses a spying threat, The Post has learned.
“We are cooperating fully with regulators and are confident at the end of the day there will be no national security issues,” a Blackstone spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the InterContinental, slated to reopen next December, is expanding its Presidential Suite to 3,000 square feet from 1,800 and is adding three other suites suitable for heads of state.
“We are defining our own product and know it will fit the needs of the diplomatic market,” General Manager Hervé Houdré said.
Mideast firm Qatar Holding has a controlling interest in the InterContinental, but the US has a warmer relationship with the Arab nation than it does with China.
