 Construction had started on the second floor when Wyner was persuaded by then-Mayor James Michael Curley to make the Mayflower a world-class, 300-room Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which opened May 19, 1927.Room rates were $5 to $15 per night; $40 per night for suites.After a hugely successful opening, the stock market crash of 1929 and ensuing Depression brought financial difficulties.