The InterContinental Dhaka is a prominent luxury hotel in Ramna in central

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

, the capital of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. It opened in 1966 and is owned by the Bangladeshi government.

Location

The vicinity of the hotel includes the

Shahbag Shahbagh (also Shahbaugh or Shahbag, , ) is a major neighbourhood and a police precinct or ''thana'' in Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. It is also a major public transport hub. It is a junction between two contrasting section ...

roundabout, the Suhrawardy Udyan, Ramna Park, the

Dhaka Club The Dhaka Club (formerly spelled as Dacca Club) is the oldest recreation organisation and the largest of elite clubs in Dhaka. Originally it was an all-white association in British India. Description Dhaka club has been described as "an oasis of ...

, the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

, BSMMU, BIRDEM Hospital, the Bangladesh National Museum and official state guest houses.

History

The Inter-Continental Dacca opened in 1966, when the city, then known as Dacca, was the capital of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

. The hotel was the first international

five-star hotel Hotel ratings are often used to classify hotels according to their quality. From the initial purpose of informing travellers on basic facilities that can be expected, the objectives of hotel rating have expanded into a focus on the hotel experie ...

in what would soon become the nation of Bangladesh. It was designed by architect William B. Tabler. The hotel played host to many important political events in the run up to the independence of Bangladesh, including negotiations on the transfer of power after the 1970 elections. During the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

in 1971, it was declared a neutral zone by the

International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a aid agency, humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of Law of ...

. Many buildings in its surrounding neighborhoods were targeted by the Pakistani military, including newspaper offices and university halls. It was attacked during Operation Hotel Intercontinental which caused deaths of many Pakistani soldiers. InterContinental Hotels operated the hotel until 1983, when it was taken over by Sheraton, becoming the Sheraton Dhaka Hotel. In 2011, Sheraton announced that it would end its contract with the Bangladeshi government to manage the hotel, which was renamed the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel. In 2013, it was announced that InterContinental Hotels would re-assume management of the state-owned property, following a major renovation. The hotel closed on September 1, 2014, and reopened as the InterContinental Dhaka on December 19, 2018. Sheraton later opened a separate hotel in the Banani area of Dhaka.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 23.7410, N, 90.3965, E, region:BD_type_landmark, display=title Hotels in Dhaka

Hotels established in 1966 Hotel buildings completed in 1966 1966 establishments in East Pakistan