The Grand Hotel Bucharest is a 24-story high-rise five-star hotel situated near University Square, Bucharest, in

Sector 1 Sector 1 is an administrative unit of Bucharest located in the northern part of the city. It contains also the northwestern districts of Băneasa and Pipera. Sector 1 is thought to be the wealthiest sector in Bucharest. Like each of Bucharest sect ...

. Opened in 1971 as the Inter-Continental Bucharest, it is a city landmark.

History

Dinu Hariton People with the given name * Dinu Brătianu (1866–1951), Romanian politician * Dinu Cocea (1929–2013), Romanian actor, film director and screenwriter *Dinu Ghezzo (1941–2011), Romanian conductor *Dinu C. Giurescu (born 1927), Romanian historia ...

Gheorghe Nădrag Gheorghe is a Romanian given name and surname. It is a variant of George, also a name in Romanian but with soft Gs. It may refer to: Given name * Gheorghe Adamescu * Gheorghe Albu * Gheorghe Alexandrescu * Gheorghe Andriev * Gheorghe Apostol * ...

, Ion Moscu, and Romeo Belea, the hotel was part of a larger development that included the Bucharest National Theatre. Construction began in 1967, and the hotel opened on 23 May 1971 as the Inter-Continental Bucharest. At the time, it was the second tallest building in the city, after the House of the Free Press. Although it no longer holds that title today, it is still the tallest hotel in Bucharest. It became the hotel of choice for members of the foreign press in Bucharest. During the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the balconies of the Inter-Continental were used to report on the protests in the adjacent University Square. The hotel was renamed slightly in 2003, becoming the InterContinental Bucharest, when the chain was reorganized and dropped the hyphen from its name. In 2007 the hotel transitioned from a long-standing franchise agreement to a management contract with the InterContinental Hotels Group. The hotel ceased to be managed by IHG on January 1, 2022, and was renamed Grand Hotel Bucharest. It is set for an EUR 21 million renovation, scheduled for completion in 2024.

Description

The building is designed so that each room has a unique panorama of the city. The highest 2 floors (21 and 22) contain a club lounge, conference rooms and a health centre with an outdoor terrace, indoor swimming pool and fitness centre. The hotel complies with the triskaidekaphobic numbering system of the floors. The first 12 levels above ground are numbered from 1 to 12 and the next 12 levels are numbered from 14 to 25. The Imperial Apartment at the 19th floor has two bedrooms and a total area of 240 square meters. The apartment contains white Italian walnut furniture polished with gold and Murano glass light fixtures. In its living room there is a fully functioning

Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to ...

white piano which was specially brought in for Nigel Kennedy's stay at the hotel in winter 2007.

In culture

* Some scenes of the Romanian movie

Nea Mărin Miliardar ''Uncle Marin, the Billionaire'' ( ro, Nea Mărin miliardar) is a 1979 Romanian comedy film directed by Sergiu Nicolaescu after a script written by , , and Amza Pellea. The main roles are interpreted by Amza Pellea (in dual role), Draga Olteanu ...

were shot in the Imperial Apartment of the Intercontinental Hotel Bucharest.

External links

Grand Hotel Bucharest official website

References

{{Tall buildings in Romania Skyscraper hotels in Bucharest Modernist architecture in Romania Hotel buildings completed in 1970 Hotels established in 1971 InterContinental hotels