This is the trust's third W hotel and fourth with a Starwood brand, said James L. Francis, its president and chief executive officer.

WSJ: W French Quarter hotel sells for $25.5 million

Francis will then return to his makeshift home at the Vatican hotel at an unspecified time later in the day.

NPR: Pope Francis Tells Benedict: "We're Brothers"

But since his election Pope Francis has been living in a simple two-room suite in the Domus Santa Marta - a hotel-style residence built by Pope John Paul II next to St Peter's Basilica.

BBC: Pope Francis shuns grand apartment for two rooms