Philadelphia, PA
The sea has long been a source of poetic and artistic creation, of both solitude and coming together. Long after he renounced his US Citizenship, T.S. Eliot spoke to journalists in 1952, quipping, ”No one has ever truly fallen in love unless they have cruised the open ocean.” Wise words, old bard. For much of human history, culture moved by ship.
Starting in 2015, Ace Hotel is moving by ship, too.
We have purchased the historic SS United States, the world’s fastest ocean-liner, and the last US-flagged trans-Atlantic super liner for refurbishing and conversion into our newest venture: Ace Hotel Ocean.
The United States, languishing in our nation’s first capital city since 1996, was put up for sale. Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) assumed ownership of the 990-foot ship in 2003 and announced its intention of refurbishing the vessel and returning her to service. Restoring the ship is, for anyone, an ambitious goal, but one deemed both worthy and feasible. That idea was floated in 2008, well before our current economic crisis. Recently, however, Star Cruises (NCL’s parent company) determined that this sort of undertaking was beyond their budget and they decided to sell the ship. We fell in love with the United States, and stepped in to save her. The rest, as they say, is history.
Or the future.