It was once a brand synonymous with gold and marble; a sign of guaranteed opulence if not necessarily good taste. Instead, the taint of sexual assault claims and alleged racism hung over the formal opening of the latest building to bear the Trump name: the Republican presidential candidate’s newest hotel in Washington DC.

Just 723 short steps along Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, this may be the closest Donald Trump comes to the heart of political power this year, but the glitzy launch was meant to be the highlight of his business calendar.

Rooms during inauguration week in January were marketed at up to $500,000 each. During a soft launch in September, Trump ensured wall-to-wall media coverage by using the occasion to finally admit he had been wrong to doubt Barack Obama’s right to American citizenship.

But weeks of political scandal appear to have taken their toll on the brand. During the recent IMF meetings in Washington, usually the busiest week of the year for luxury hotels in the city, rooms could be found online at a significant discount compared to its sold-out rivals.

While Trump was boasting of the building’s 5ft-thick walls during Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, the sound of political protest out on the street could be heard from inside the lobby. Overnight, Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was destroyed by a vandal with a sledgehammer and pickaxe.

The candidate sounded wistful and unusually subdued as he took a break from the campaign trail to attend the launch. “With the notable exception of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, this is the most coveted location in DC. The best location,” said Trump.

Even the struggling campaign’s slogan, “Make America great again”, was watered down, perhaps succumbing to criticism that it implies the country is no longer at its best. ‘The United States is great. Its people are great,” said Trump, during brief political remarks that followed the launch.

Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Tiffany Trump and Ivanka Trump cut the ribbon at the new Trump International hotel. Photograph: Gary Cameron/Reuters

“My theme today is five [sic] words: ‘under budget and ahead of schedule’,” added Trump. “You don’t hear those words too much within government, but you will. This is what I want to do for our country.”

Ivanka Trump, whose name has been attached to both the hotel’s spa and its flagship suite over two floors of the bell tower, also sounded worn down by the steady stream of attacks. “This political season has been one of the most interesting journeys of my life,” said Trump’s daughter. “Each day I have heard critics attempt to deride my father’s business. But one of the most telling things is the thousands of people who have worked with him who continue stand by his side.”

Eric Danziger, chief executive of the family’s hotel business, insisted the group was still meeting internal projections. “This has been a very rewarding year for Trump hotels. Our business continues to exceed our targets,” he said. But he somewhat spoiled the attempt to put a brave face on signs of commercial backlash by confirming recent reports that the next hotel venture would not bear the family name and would instead be called “Scion hotels”.

In Manhattan, the many buildings that bear Trump’s name have become a magnet for middle fingers from passing motorists, with reports of dumped dog excrement and hurled eggs. Management of one apartment complex has refused requests from residents for Trump’s name to be removed, citing cost and the risk of being sued.

The election had already been costly for the Trump brand. Early on, NBC severed ties over Trump’s immigration remarks. Macy’s dumped his menswear line. There have been attempts to remove his name from hotel projects from the Middle East to Canada.

But the combination of weeks of sexual assault allegations – all vigorously denied by Trump – and plummeting poll numbers mean the hotel launch comes at a particularly bad time.

“We’ll build a wall against racism and bigotry,” read a banner on display outside the main entrance as an army of political reporters descended beforehand. “This is not really a hotel; this is a symbol of Trump’s political ambition,” claimed Eugene Puryear, a protester with the Answer Coalition. “This is another opportunity for Trump to create this myth about his so-called business prowess.”

Demonstrators gather outside of the Trump International Hotel in Washington on Wednesday. Photograph: Zach Gibson/AFP/Getty Images

Washington is not a Republican city. Trump received just 391 votes in the DC primary convention and could come third in the city in November’s general election. The hotel launch was boycotted by the city’s Democratic mayor and local restaurateurs.

But hotels are aimed at visitors. A characterful building on a national thoroughfare neglected by commercial developers, the Old Post Office could have provided a bit of harmless glitz to a city where opulence typically tends toward understatement. Instead, the acres of marble, chintzy carpet and gleaming gold taps on the inside feel like any other US luxury hotel, while the giant Trump sign on the outside simply invites uncomfortable associations.

How many reporters would have been here for any other hotel launch is hard to tell, but the press pack easily exceeded the 225 seats laid out for invited guests. Several of these were filled by family members: Melania, Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka.

Officially, it was not a campaign event, but two of the handful of prominent Republicans still prepared to be associated with the candidacy were there as well, in the former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Alabama senator Jeff Sessions. Gingrich rejected criticism that the event was a distraction from the campaign: “That’s because they don’t understand the message,” he said, before echoing Trump: “It’s under budget and ahead of schedule … it tells you what a Trump administration would be like.”

“Washington will never be the same” is the defiant slogan of the hotel’s management, which seems determined to milk the waning political connections. What John F Kennedy would make of the 713 sq ft room in his name is harder to judge.