Hotel chain Rezidor Hotel Group Management Rezidor Hotel Group | Location Moscow, Russia | |
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Address 2/1 Kutuzovsky Prospect Opening May 1957
Renovated 2007-2010 Owner God Nisanov and Zarakh Iliev | ||
The Radisson Royal Hotel, Moscow is a five-star luxury hotel in Moscow city centre, on a bend of the Moskva River, managed by the Rezidor Hotel Group. It still maintains its historic name of Hotel Ukraina.
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History
Hotel Ukraina was commissioned by Joseph Stalin. It was designed by Arkady Mordvinov and Vyacheslav Oltarzhevsky (leading Soviet expert on steel-framed highrise construction), and is the second tallest of the neoclassical Stalin-era "seven sisters" (198 m (650 ft), with 34 stories). It was the tallest hotel in the world from the time of its construction until the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel opened in Atlanta, Georgia, United States in 1976. Construction on the low river bank meant that the builders had to dig well below the water level. This was enabled by an ingenious water retention system, using a perimeter of needle pumps driven deep into the ground.
The hotel opened on May 25, 1957. It closed in 2007 for a complete renovation and restoration. In 2009, the owners signed a contract with the Rezidor Hotel Group to manage the hotel as the Radisson Royal Hotel, Moscow. The hotel maintains its original name, however, for some purposes.
The hotel reopened on April 28, 2010 after its 3-year-renovation. The façade was restored in detail, while modern technology has been added, including multi-level water cleaning systems and air circulation systems.
The hotel was acquired by billionaire property investor God Nisanov for £59 million during an auction in 2005. He co-owns it with Zarakh Iliev.
Facilities
The hotel has 505 rooms, 38 apartments, 5 restaurants, a conference centre, executive floor, banquet hall, library, spa & wellness centre with 50m indoor swimming pool, and a fleet of Moskva River yachts.
Art collection
There are also about 1,200 original paintings by the most prominent Russian artists of the first half of the 20th century, and on the first floor the diorama Moscow – Capital of the USSR in 1:75 scale shows the historical centre of Moscow and the city’s surroundings from Luzjniki to Zemlyanoi Val in the year 1977, when the artwork was created.