Avenue side of the structure. Then on November 1, 1971, May-Wash hired Western International Hotels to manage the property. Western International said it would invest $500,000 immediately to upgrade guest rooms (which included color television sets for the first time). Western International said the previously announced $2.5 million refurbishment would go to additional guest room renovations, and improvements to dining spaces, banqueting facilities, and ballrooms. The Rib Room lost its name (which had been trademarked by HCA, the previous manager), the facade was cleaned, and the air conditioning repaired and upgraded. Beginning in April 1973, the Mayflower Hotel served as the temporary Embassy of China in Washington, D.C., for a time while their new embassy building at 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW was being renovated following the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China. With the Mayflower making a profit, May-Wash Associates undertook at $2.5 million general refurbishment of the guest rooms about 1977. The hotel then announced a $25 million expansion of the hotel in January 1979. The company intended to combine 800 smaller guest rooms in its eastern half into 407 luxury suites, and to add a health club (with racquetball court, sauna, and swimming pool) and café to the 17th Street side of the hotel. Meeting and private dining room space would be added to the structure; all plumbing and mechanical systems would be upgraded; and central air conditioning would replace the window units now in operation. May-Wash hired architect Vlastimil Koubek to design two new floors to add to the top of the eastern tower, bringing it to the same height as the western tower. The 448 rooms in the hotel's eastern half would be turned into retail space on the two first floors with office space above. The hotel sought to permanently narrow De Sales Street NW as part of its renovations. Western International Hotels, which managed the property, was renamed Westin Hotels & Resorts in January 1981. In October 1981, May-Wash Associates announced that Stouffer Corp., a division of Nestlé, was taking a minority interest in the Mayflower Hotel, and would assume management of the property on December 1, 1981, under a 20-year agreement. Stouffer said the hotel would be its American "flagship", and the hotel was renamed the Stouffer Mayflower Hotel. While renovation of the eastern tower proceeded, plans for the western tower drastically changed. The Mayflower