Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Marriott is expanding, and that’s not just because of its merger with Starwood. The former Trump International Hotel & Tower Panama will soon be rebranded as a JW Marriott.The Trump Hotel resided in the tallest building in Panama — and actually in Central America. In March, it became embroiled in a legal battle as the hotel owners evicted the Trump Organization and removed the the Trump brand from the hotel. At one point they actually did, physically prying “Trump” from the building and renaming it the Bahia Grand Panama. The owners poked fun at the President by creating sarcastic Trump-themed cocktails like the Stormy Jack Daniels, Fire and Fury and Little Rocket Man.A worker removes the Trump sign letters from outside the hotel in Panama City on March 5, 2018. (Photo by STR/AFP/Getty Images)The Trump Organization pursued legal methods to restore the name and even asked the Panamanian president to intervene on behalf of their cause.Ithaca Capital, a Miami-based real estate investment firm, took control of the property in March and announced that it would be transformed into a JW Marriott, a luxury brand controlled by Marriott. The firm predicts the rebranding will be complete in September 2018. Ithaca owns Marriott properties in the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica.This isn’t the first instance of hotel owners trying to distance themselves from US president Donald Trump. Trump would regularly lease his name to properties, but not actually operate the hotel or apartments himself. Former Trump Hotels in New York and Toronto removed the Trump brand last year although neither joined a hotel chain.Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.The five-star hotel is 932 feet tall and sits right on the Pacific Ocean. It features 369 rooms, four restaurants and five swimming pools. Once the hotel officially becomes part of the Marriott brand, you’ll be able to redeem points at the property — although it’s unclear what category the property will fall into.H/T: Bloomberg
