Boston landmark Ritz-Carlton on sale

Washington -- The 79-year-old Ritz-Carlton, America's longest continuously run hotel and a Boston landmark, is on sale, but its owners would not say whether it's going to the Tata's Indian Hotels.

"I can confirm that negotiations are going on between owners of The RC Boston, Millennium Partners, to sell the hotel," Vivian A. Deuschl, corporate vice president, public relations of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel company, told IANS on phone.

"However, I cannot discuss the identity of the potential purchasers," she said, commenting on an Indian media report that Indian Hotels (IHCL), which runs hotels and resorts under the Taj brand, is buying the Boston-based Ritz-Carlton hotel for $170 million through its US subsidiary, International Hotel Management Service.

The Ritz-Carlton, located on Boston's fashionable Newbury Street, surrounded by art galleries, boutiques and restaurants opened for business in 1927 and was bought by Millennium Partners of New York in 1999 for $122 million.

It has recently completed a $60 million restoration project returning the classic hotel to its old splendour. A collection of original art and antiques is on display throughout the hotel with 273 guestrooms on 12 floors.