WASHINGTON — The Watergate Hotel is redesigning its infamous Room 214 to reflect its place in the Watergate scandal 45 years ago this month.
The Watergate says it has hired Lyn Paolo, the costume designer for the ABC series “Scandal” to create what the hotel calls a one-of-a-kind accommodation for hotel guests.
On June 17, 1972, E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, who led the break-in of the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate office building next door, worked from the hotel’s room 214, keeping in contact via radio with the burglary team.
“Because of the infamous break-in 45 years ago, the Watergate Hotel has been a household name with a scandalous past that can’t be ignored,” said Rakel Cohen, hotel owner Euro Capital’s senior vice president of design and development.
“We pay homage to the past with small details throughout the property, but everyone kept asking us about Room 214, so we needed to do something bold with it.”
The Watergate’s announcement was short on details about what Room 214’s redesign will involve, other than saying it will have soft furnishings and in-room amenities and closet items that showcase the property’s significant history and underscore the guest room’s allure to so many global travelers.
It did not say if Room 214 will have a higher nightly rate or how guests will be able to request it.
The Watergate’s other nods to its place in political history include room keys that read “No Need to Break-In,” and instead of music on hold when guests call the hotel, they hear speeches from then-President Richard Nixon. Watergate would ultimately be the scandal that brings Nixon down.
In-room pencils are also engraved with “I Stole This from The Watergate Hotel.”
The Watergate, which sat empty for years, recently underwent a $200 million renovation and reopened in June 2016.
