(Staggs, 2005)  The Aschaffenburg family sold the Pontchartrain in the late 1980s. During the more than 60 years of the family's ownership and management, the Pontchartrain and its Caribbean Room restaurant received many honors: top rating in the Guide Julliard de Paris, Harpers & Queens 200 Best Hotels in the World, The IFMA Gold Plate award, Nation's Restaurant News Hall of Fame, a charter member of Preferred Hotels Worldwide and it was a perennial Holiday Magazine award winner. The 80-year-old hotel building closed for extensive renovations in July 2007. In July 2008, it was reported that the building would be converted into a residence for retirees. In August 2013, the Pontchartrain reopened as a hotel, and its historic Bayou Bar reopened in February 2014. In November 2014, the Pontchartrain Hotel was acquired by AJ Capital Partners, with Cooper Manning as a part-owner. It underwent another, more ambitious renovation aimed at restoring it to its former grandeur and re-emphasizing its historic character. Its 106 guestrooms and suites were updated to appeal to a younger generation of travelers. Celebrity chef John Besh and his staff were chosen to run the Caribbean Room and all of the hotel's dining operations. Besh's company left the Pontchartrain in January 2018. As of January 2018 all of the hotel's restaurants were operated by QED Hospitality. The hotel reopened again on June 17, 2016, along with the Caribbean Room, Bayou Bar, and Silver Whistle coffee shop. Additionally, a new rooftop bar, Hot Tin, has been created on the 14th story of the hotel, overlooking the New Orleans skyline and Mississippi River. In April 2018, Jack Rose restaurant opened in the space of the former Caribbean Room. In August 2019, Jack Rose was named "Best Hotel Restaurant" in the United States by "USA Today".