[2] Sonesta's largest hotels are in Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago and New Orleans.

[4] In 1937, real estate mogul A.M. "Sonny" Sonnabend pooled his resources with six other investors to purchase the Preston Beach Hotel in Swampscott, Massachusetts.

[7] In 1953, he purchased the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan from hotelier Conrad Hilton for a reported $15 million.

[17] Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Sonesta built several hotel properties in Egypt, and began operating Nile cruises.

[19][20] Sonesta was sold to an affiliate of Newton-based Hospitality Properties Trust in 2011, and became a privately owned company again.

[23] In 2015, the company created Sonesta ES Suites, in cities like Columbus, Ohio, Cincinnati, and Cleveland.