Design of hotels and hotels. Design of hotels, small hotels. Individual design of hotel complexes New life for old hotels

Hotel Ukraine is one of the seven Stalinist skyscrapers in Moscow. The hotel building was being built at an accelerated pace to International Festival youth and students, which was planned for 1957. Hotel Ukraine in Moscow initially included 1000 hotel rooms and 254 apartments.

The outer part of the building is decorated with obelisks, vases made of sheaves of wheat, and decorative walls made of five-pointed stars. The hotel interior is also characterized by lush decorative decoration with marble and picturesque lampshades. Hotel Ukraine is 206 meters high with a spire and consists of three parts. The central part of the hotel includes 34 floors.

The hotel is located in an important place, from the point of view of urban planning, at the Dorogomilovskaya bend of the Moscow River on the Taras Shevchenko embankment. The building was erected even before the construction of the Novo-Arbatsky Bridge and the active development of the adjacent part of Kutuzovsky Prospekt.

The high-rise was supposed to become a vertical marking the beginning of the newly laid Kutuzovsky Avenue. According to the master plan for the reconstruction of Moscow in 1935, the designed avenue was supposed to be called Constitution Avenue and it was supposed to run past Poklonnaya Gora through the Dorogomilovsky district to the center. Now it is New Arbat and Kutuzovsky Prospekt.

Architects of the Ukraina Hotel

The architect of the Ukraine Hotel was A. Mordvinov, who specialized more in the high-speed construction of new quarters of Moscow. His ideas were more relevant to solving problems with the catastrophic shortage of living space for Moscow citizens.

Therefore, to work on the Ukraine Hotel project, he attracted the newly released architect V. Oltarzhevsky, who took part in the work on the project of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow and was repressed in the 1930s on charges of sabotage.

After the death of I. Stalin, the architects of the skyscraper had to justify their construction for a long time. At the suggestion of N. Khrushchev, incredible criticism began of both the structure and the architects who created it. Most of the architects who took part in the work on high-rise buildings, including the Ukraine Hotel, lost Stalin's prizes and high positions. Architect A. Mordvinov was disgracedly removed from the post of President of the USSR Academy of Architecture.

Construction of the Ukraine Hotel in Moscow

The architects and builders of the Ukraine Hotel faced a difficult task. The bank of the Moscow River is not the best place to erect a high-rise building. The building design assumed that the foundation of the entire structure should go to a depth of 11 meters and 6 meters below the groundwater level.

In those years, there were two solutions to such a difficult problem, or the already well-known system of soil freezing or water reduction using a network of pumps. To drain groundwater in the pit, more than 900 pumping units were provided.

Hotel Ukraine received its name only under N. Khrushchev; before that, at all stages of architectural planning and construction, the project was called the Hotel Building in Dorogomilovo.

Fully architectural ensemble was completed only in the late 60s, when the appearance of Arbat Square and New Arbat was finally formed. The Taras Shevchenko embankment and the square laid out on it successfully complemented the appearance of the Ukraine Hotel.

Engineers, planning Constitution Avenue, intended to build it with houses three times smaller in height than those built. However, due to criticism of the project by N. Khrushchev, buildings were erected on Kutuzovsky Prospect that were as tall as the Ukraine Hotel and significantly detracted from its appearance.

The magazines of that time wrote that “the eerie hulks that grew up on the sides of the new highway have overshadowed the hotel spire with their grayness, which against their background looks like a medium-sized sapling stretching out from under the asphalt of New Arbat.”

In 1957, at the time of its opening, the Ukraine Hotel was considered the largest in Europe. The restaurant of the Stalin skyscraper was also a landmark of Moscow in its own way. From above, the entire structure is a rectangle, one side of which makes up the main element - the high-rise building of the hotel itself, and two long and symmetrical sides make up the residential buildings.

The golden hue of the Moscow region limestone used to clad the building emphasizes the richness of the façade. The majesty of the structure is emphasized by the colored mosaics in the high-rise part of the building, the extensive use of bas-reliefs and three-dimensional sculpture.

One of the legends about Stalin's skyscrapers says that the design of all buildings was based on pyramid designs. And indeed, among the design drawings for Ukraine there is a drawing reflecting the idea of a pyramid.

It is their proportionality that contributes to the harmonious perception of high-rise buildings. The architect of the Ukraine Hotel A. Mordvinov based the project on a versatile pyramid. The architectural image of the high-rise embodied the universal principles of harmony.

Interior of the Ukraine Hotel in Moscow

The rooms at the Ukraine Hotel were designed and equipped to the highest standards of that era. The equipment for preparing and heating the air was almost silent. The building was provided general system dust removal.

The building included several restaurants and shops. The restaurant's halls were designed in typical Stalinist architecture. The closed rectangular architecture and monumental enfilade were completely incompatible with the restaurant function.

One of the European guests of the Ukraine Hotel wrote that “while having breakfast in the restaurant hall, I experienced the full severity of the building, pathos, excessive pomposity, and my own insignificance.” According to I. Stalin’s plan, these were exactly the feelings that should have arisen in all visitors to Moscow skyscrapers.

The large dimensions of the halls and individual elements of the restaurant were completely disproportionate to a person, and especially to a person sitting. The use of expensive materials in decoration, luxury fabrics and tableware made eating not just an uncomfortable event, but a very dangerous ritual. One awkward move by a guest and a large fine had to be paid for damaged tablecloths or dishes.

It is impossible not to mention the KGB post on one of the floors of the building. The Soviet government could not allow such a facility as the Ukraine Hotel, which also received foreign guests and was located within walking distance from the Foreign Ministry building, to not have special equipment for listening to conversations and monitoring guests. And as you know, a post with duty officers from a specialized department was always posted near the equipment.

Reconstruction of a high-rise building

In 2005, the building of the Ukraine Hotel in Moscow was put up for auction. The Moscow government was forced to sell the building because there was no co-investor willing to invest almost $60 million in its reconstruction. More than 20 little-known companies took part in the auction. The winning bidder was Biscuit LLC, which paid $275 million for the high-rise building.

The entire building has undergone reconstruction. The interior decorative elements and the façade, including the 73-meter spire, were updated. During reconstruction, one of the eight decorative towers collapsed on the restaurant building. There were no casualties in the emergency, as everything happened at night.

During the analysis of the destroyed structure, architects and experts agreed that the collapse occurred due to the use of low-quality building materials during the construction of the Ukraine Hotel back in the 1950s. But despite this, its further operation is considered safe.

Today, the high-rise not only fulfills its main purpose as one of the best hotels in Moscow, but is also a striking landmark of the city. In 2010, the renovated high-rise began to welcome guests under the Radisson Royal brand. The management of the building was entrusted to The Rezidor group Hotel Group. New Hotel Radisson Royal joined the international Radisson Hotel chain.

One of the conditions for the reconstruction of the Ukraine Hotel in Moscow was the preservation of its historical appearance and interior decor. Now in the pompous halls of the skyscraper there are:

Restaurant "Tatler Club" by A. Novikov.
Beefbar “Junior”.
Restaurant "Veranda".
Restaurant of Iranian cuisine "FARSI".
Italian restaurant "Bono".
"Mercedes Bar".
Karaoke bar "Troubadour".
Restaurant for two "Romantic".

The highest point of the building - the glass veranda under the spire of the Ukraine Hotel, or as it is now called the Radisson Royal Hotel, is occupied by the Romantic Restaurant. At almost 200 meters in height there is a magnificently decorated table and two comfortable chairs, just for two.

And the main decoration of this restaurant is not its snow-white decoration and romantic atmosphere, but, of course, the view! View of Moscow from the center to the outskirts. By the way, the restaurant “Bono”, located nearby, is included in two of our ratings “The most expensive restaurant in Moscow” and “Panoramic restaurants in Moscow”.

The restaurant's cuisine fully corresponds to the height of the restaurant itself; each dish is unique and is a masterpiece of culinary skill. Dinner at this unusual place will be remembered for a lifetime, and the story of the evening spent on one of the highest and most unusual roofs in Moscow will be passed down as a family legend.

Diorama Moscow - the capital of the USSR

The Ukraine Hotel in Moscow not only fulfills its function of receiving guests, but is also a hall for a large number of objects of artistic value. In the main gallery of the first floor there is an amazing historical exhibit - Diorama Moscow - Capital of the USSR. The diorama is a miniature Moscow of the 70s. The diorama is not only a cultural and historical monument, but also a masterpiece of panorama art.

The diorama surprises with a very high level of accuracy. The models of the objects depicted are particularly authentic. The diorama is made on a scale of 1:75, which allows you to examine in detail the entire center of what was then Moscow.

The total area occupied by the diorama is 306 square meters. m. and is equipped with mechanisms that reproduce the appropriate time of day. The diorama was created in the art workshop of Efim Deshalyt for the National Exhibition in the USA by order of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The diorama was exhibited in many countries around the world, providing an opportunity to virtual trip behind the Iron Curtain to the capital of the Soviet Union. The diorama at the exhibition in Leipzig won a gold medal as a work of high art.

In the USSR, the Diorama was exhibited at VDNH and in one of exhibition complexes Moscow. In 2007, especially for the reconstructed Ukraine Hotel in Moscow, at an auction, the Diorama was bought by the new owners of the building. In 2010, restoration work on the Diorama was completed and it is now on display.

Pier of the Ukraine Hotel in Moscow

The Ukrainian pier in Moscow is located on the Taras Shevchenko embankment opposite the park in front of the hotel. The pier, like the embankment, was built in 1961 for the 100th anniversary of the death of the Ukrainian poet T. Shevcheno, complementing the architectural composition of the structure. The pier is equipped for disembarking and embarking passengers. The Radisson Hotel berth is usually called a berth, despite the fact that in the river fleet the more common term is a pier.

They don't stop near the pier " water buses» – pleasure boats of the Capital Shipping Company, making regular river walks along the Moscow River. The berth of the Ukraine Hotel is intended only for parking of motor ships of the Radisson Royal flotilla. Radisson cruises along the Moscow River on modern and comfortable yachts begin from the pier of the renovated hotel.

Flotilla Radisson Royal

In 2009, 5 magnificent pleasure yachts, specially designed for Radisson Royal, were launched:

Ferdinand.
Scarlet.
Celebrity.
Chapel.
Bon Voyage.

The snow-white yachts surprised and delighted not only the travelers themselves, but also the Muscovites, who watched in amazement as the ships smoothly glide along the waters of the Moscow River. The trip on the Radisson pleasure boat was mostly fun for foreign tourists. But in last years and Muscovites began to increasingly buy tickets for cruises on the Moscow River.

In 2013, the Radisson Royal flotilla was replenished with improved yachts with 1st class salons and open decks, allowing you to experience a journey along the water surface of the Moscow River: enjoying the sun, headwind and splashing waves:

Butterfly.
Montana.
Felicita.
Primavera.
Beauty.

Cruises on the Moscow River from the Radisson Royal pier run every day all year round. The ships are equipped with everything necessary equipment to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers. Panoramic glazing of all Radisson Royal fleet yachts allows you to admire the center of Moscow without any interference. Open decks are a great place for a photo shoot.

All ships have restaurants and bars where you can have a pleasant dinner and admire different panoramas of Moscow.

Hotel "Moscow" on Okhotny Ryad, 2 is one of the largest in the capital of Russia. It was originally built between 1933 and 1935. The project was developed by a group of architects, which included Leonid Ivanovich(?) Savelyev and Osvald Andreevich Stapran, with significant participation from Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev.

The hotel complex was dismantled in 2004, and in its place a building was erected, which was built according to the original original drawings and almost completely reproduces the former forms of the previously dismantled one (as the developers say).

Photo 1. Hotel "Moscow", the central facade of which faces

Manezhnaya Square

History of construction of the first stage

Hotel "Moscow" was included in the list of the first buildings of this type in Soviet Russia. It occupies an entire block, bounded by Okhotny Ryad Street and squares - Manezhnaya and Revolution Square. The massive building became the dominant feature of the surrounding area.

It is worth noting that the Okhotny Ryad area was considered at the beginning of the 20th century to be one of the most unfavorable sanitary conditions in the city of Moscow. Since this place was planned under the new government as a site for the construction of the Palace of Labor, the surrounding area began to be cleared and brought into a more dignified form.

There were some excesses, which resulted in the demolition of the chapel in the name of Alexander Nevsky and the Church of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa in the 1920s. But, meanwhile, all the stinking dilapidated shops were destroyed here, most of which were located at the southern end of this area, and the local market was moved from the very center of the Mother See to Tsvetnoy Boulevard.

Photo 2. View of the hotel complex from Okhotny Ryad street and

Theater Square

The authors were, as stated above, architects Stapran and Savelyev. The future building was to be erected in the then fashionable style of constructivism, which clearly conflicted with architectural appearance this area: massiveness and strict asceticism did not fit here in any way.

By the time the frame frame of the building was almost completed, the famous architect of the pre-revolutionary school, Alexei Shchusev, was brought in to implement the project for the construction of the future Moscow Hotel. Why?

The fact is that by the onset of the 1930s, the architecture of the country of the Soviets began to move away from the avant-garde style in the outline of buildings and turned to the urban planning heritage of the past, i.e. classical style, which became a factor in the emergence of the so-called “Stalinist Empire style”.

So, Alexey Ivanovich had to correct the initial idea of his young colleagues.

It was already impossible to make significant changes due to the already built monolithic box, but Shchusev managed to correct a lot without infringing on the pride of Savelyev and Stapran, and create a laconic decor, executed in the spirit of neoclassicism.

This is how an eight-column portico with an open terrace, six floors high, numerous balconies along the facade and loggias-arcades from the main entrance appeared here. Turrets appeared at the corners of the building, and after all the innovations, the building itself received a certain plasticity, which the division into fragments of the entire facade helped to express.

The building of the Moscow Hotel was initially supposed to be of different heights: the main facade on the side of Manezhnaya Square had 14 floors, and the building along Okhotny Ryad had only 10.

It is worth noting that the building was supposed to have an architectural connection with the future Palace of the Soviets, which was planned to be built on the site of the destroyed Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and therefore the central facade is oriented to the other side and now “looks” directly at the recreated religious building.

In those same years, the architect Shchusev began to implement the plan for the construction of the second stage of the Moscow Hotel, but the practical implementation of the project was never started.

Construction of two additional buildings began only in 1968. These were a 10-story building on the side of Revolution Square and a 6-story building facing Teatralnaya Square. For these purposes, some buildings located next to the already built part of the hotel complex were demolished, incl. and the Grand Hotel.

The work was completed in 1977 on the eve of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution.

Although they tried to erect the buildings in the same architectural concept as the former buildings, the decor of the facades turned out to be somewhat dry. Many critics expressed particular complaints about the building from the Teatralnaya Square side, which was an ordinary concrete box.

The history of the construction of the first stage of the Moscow Hotel is connected by legend with Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin himself, the leader of the Soviet state at that time.

Allegedly, the architect Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev presented the leader with a design project for the main facade for signature in two versions, combined in one drawing and separated by a median line: the left one was more pompous, and the right one was made in more strict forms. Stalin's signature crossed the center line, and they were afraid to decide which of them was actually approved. So they built the façade with some asymmetry.

In confirmation of this, they point to the differences between the right and left risalits.

The legend may be beautiful, but it does not correspond to the facts. Stalin never put his signature on architectural projects.

“Restoration by demolition” - the architectural movement of Luzhkov’s time

In 2004, the old buildings of the Moscow Hotel, which occupied an entire block, were dismantled, and in their place they began to build a new building, which in its shape was supposed to resemble the previous building. By 2013, the main work was completed, and will begin soon new story of this complex in the center of the capital.

It is worth noting that huge amounts of money were allocated for construction, of which about $90 million were simply stolen. Many believe that the reconstruction of the building was required precisely for these purposes - cutting.

The Moscow Hotel was built only in the 30s of the last century, and here it was possible to do with a gentle reconstruction that would bring the building to the level of the world's best hotels, especially since such experience already existed in the capital. As an example, we can cite the hotels “Metropol”, “National”, “

The architecture of the capital's buildings makes it possible to determine with an accuracy of up to a decade when and under which ruler they were erected. Not all residential buildings built in the last century have survived to this day. The same cannot be said about hotels. In this material we will look at five “hotel heroes” in various categories, whose “life path” can tell about political and historical milestones in the development of the city of Moscow.

Five stars - Moscow Hotel

The Moscow Hotel, occupying an entire block, was one of the first hotels built in Soviet Moscow. The massive building plays a dominant role in shaping the area immediately adjacent to the Kremlin. “Moskva” is distinguished by complex architectural plasticity, designed to harmonize the structure with the neighboring Kremlin and building Historical Museum. Construction of the hotel took place from 1933 to 1935 according to the design of architects L. Savelyev, O. Stapran and A. Shchusev.

Okhotny Ryad, considered one of the most unsanitary areas of the city at the beginning of the 20th century, became the first Moscow district to undergo radical reconstruction in the 1920s. Which is not surprising: after all, there were numerous shops and taverns there. The Soviet authorities decided to “clean up” the city center and build something monumental in place of the shopping arcades. In 1922, they planned to build the Palace of Labor here. The representative competition for the best project did not lead to realized results. Due to financial difficulties, construction was postponed. However, work on the reconstruction of the building began: in the same year, the Alexander Nevsky Chapel on Manezhnaya Square was demolished; in 1924, mass demolition of retail shops in the southern part of Okhotny Ryad began (mostly wooden buildings). In 1930, the Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Church was demolished, and all market trade was moved to Tsvetnoy Boulevard.

The initial project of the Mossovet hotel (project name), completed in the late 1920s by young architects O. Stapran and L. Savelyev, was decided in the spirit of constructivism and was in obvious contradiction with the established historical appearance of the area. The severe asceticism of the massive building did not fit in with the ensemble of the Kremlin, the development of Okhotny Ryad, Tverskaya and Mokhovaya streets.

Savelyev's option

Alexey Shchusev was invited as a co-author, called upon to correct the “mistakes” of the project. By that time, the frame box of the building was already being completed, and it was not possible to make significant changes. However, Shchusev, with great ingenuity and tact, made changes to the project, adding laconic decor in the spirit of neoclassicism, without violating the constructivist basis of the building design.

General plan (Shchusev)

The result was a strict and monumental eight-column portico six stories high with an open terrace, spacious loggias-arcades in the center of the main facade, and numerous balconies. The corners of the building were accented with turrets. The building itself has acquired greater plasticity thanks to a more pronounced division of the main facade.

The architects made 18 sets of furniture from different types of trees especially for the hotel. And on December 20, 1935, the first visitors were able to see all the luxury of the first Soviet hotel.

Room plan

They say that some citizens who were awarded a trip to “Moscow” were so afraid of dirtying the interior of their rooms that they slept right on the floor. In addition to workers and collective farmers, among the guests were Alexei Stakhanov, Valery Chkalov, Demyan Bedny, Georgy Zhukov, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, Mikhail Zharov, Arkady Raikin, Yuri Gagarin, Boris Yeltsin, and the last “star” resident was Robert De Niro.

At the same time, Shchusev completed sketches of the second stage of the hotel, but it did not come to the construction of new buildings. The 10-story building facing Revolution Square (facing the Lenin Museum building) and the 6-story building facing Teatralnaya Square began to be built only in 1968. To implement the project, it was necessary to demolish a number of buildings adjacent to Moskva from the east, including the old Grand Hotel. Architects A. Boretsky, D. Solopov and I. Rozhkin generally took into account the compositional ideas laid down by their predecessors. The second stage of the hotel was put into operation in 1977, on the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution; Thus, the buildings of the Moscow Hotel occupied an entire block. However, the decor of the new buildings turned out to be drier in design; The 6-story building was generally designed in the spirit of an ordinary concrete box, which, according to some experts, introduced a sharp dissonance into the ensemble of Theater Square.

Drinkers have probably noticed the façade not only in old Soviet films, but also on the vodka label. According to legend, state security analysts came up with the idea of placing the building there. It was believed that such vodka was consumed by bosses and creative individuals, and accordingly, according to the security officers, they would someday stay in a hotel, which they often see on their table. And there you can listen to them and draw conclusions.

In 1942, the national poet of Belarus, Yanka Kupala, died in Moscow. He slipped on a marble staircase and fell down a flight of stairs from the 10th floor. The police considered it an accident, although there were rumors among the people that the NKVD had a hand in this death. And when the hotel began to be dismantled in 2003, there were rumors that Beria’s secret bunker had been found on the sixth floor: its walls were one and a half meters thick, so the builders had to work hard to dismantle this shelter. Explosives were discovered under the building, which were planted at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War to blow up the hotel if the Germans got to it.

But then there was no need to destroy the hotel. This began to be done 60 years later, when the building was declared unsafe. The last guests received as a bonus a voucher for accommodation in the already new hotel in a week. The authorities promised that it would be possible to use the gift as early as 2010.

Hotel "Moscow" on a USSR postage stamp, 1946 The building of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (left) and a fragment of the Hotel "Moscow" on a USSR postage stamp issued for the 800th anniversary of Moscow

There is a legend that J.V. Stalin personally approved the final project of the hotel presented by Shchusev, and it was this circumstance that caused the noticeable asymmetry of the main facade of the building. The architect prepared a project of the main facade with two design options for approval. Both options were combined in one drawing and separated by an axis of symmetry: on the right side of the drawing a more strict version was depicted, on the left side - a variant with big amount decorative details. Stalin put his signature in the middle: none of the designers dared to clarify what exactly Joseph Vissarionovich had in mind, and Shchusev implemented both design options in one façade, in literal accordance with the approved drawing. Allegedly for this reason, the risalits of the main facade differ from each other. This is nothing more than a beautiful legend. Stalin did not sign the projects. In fact, everything turned out to be much more prosaic: the signature under one of the variants of the facade, divided by an axis of symmetry, was put by Shchusev. Next, the drawings were sent to the builders, who did everything as in the picture. At that time, parallel to the construction of the building, scaffolding was erected, which hid the error until it was dismantled.

The total area of the complex will be 183,000 sq. m. m. The project of a new building on the site of a destroyed hotel was developed by the architect of the State Unitary Enterprise Mosproekt-2 named after. M.V. Posokhin” by V.V. Kolosnitsyn. The customer for the reconstruction is JSC Dekmos.

Four stars - Cosmos Hotel

The Cosmos hotel complex was built to serve the XXII summer Olympic Games, held in Moscow in 1980.

Hotel "Cosmos". 1980s

The architecture and design of the building with a view of VDNH and the monument to the “Conquerors of Space” were developed jointly by a team of Soviet and French architects (V. Andreev, T. Zaikin, V. Steyskal - Mosproekt-1; O. Kakub, P. Zhugle, S. Epstein - France).

The hotel included: 1,718 standard rooms with 2 beds, 53 two-room suites, 6 four-room suites and about 3,600 places in the hotel catering network.

When planning the premises, we had to strictly adhere to Soviet standards, which were not only very different from Western ones, but were also much stricter. The construction of the building was carried out by the French company Sefri.

The official opening of the hotel took place on July 18, 1979. It was attended by many prominent political figures, businessmen, and pop stars. Special guest singer Joe Dassin sang.

“Cosmos,” unlike the similar “Zarya” and “Tourist,” is a twenty-five-story building resembling the shape of a horseshoe.

During the Olympic Games, the hotel housed the Olympic press center. The hotel also hosted many other public events: the Festival of Youth and Students, TV shows “Morning Star”, “Song of the Year”, the “Crystal Boat” competition, and in 2004 the Cosmos Hotel hosted the “People’s Artist-2” project. Among the hotel guests were such famous personalities as: Joe Dassin, Alla Pugacheva, Garry Kasparov and others famous people.

“Cosmos” also became famous for the fact that Tõnis Mägi performed the song “Olympics 80” at the main entrance to the hotel.

And in the film “Day Watch” the hotel was the headquarters of the dark forces. Some of the filming took place in the hotel.

However, despite the fact that the hotel developers claimed that there was no doubt about the safety of the facility, in 2010, an employee of a cleaning company who was monitoring the cleanliness of the hotel hair salon was boiled alive in an elevator shaft. The tragedy occurred when she was taking the elevator down to the ground floor with bags of garbage. When the elevator doors opened, the main heating pipe suddenly burst. The temperature of the liquid (water with the addition of special additives) in the tanks at the time of the accident was about 130 degrees. A powerful stream of boiling water doused the unfortunate woman. The woman died on the spot. The accident on the heating main occurred as a result of a valve failure.

Currently, Russian and Russian tourists stay at the Cosmos Hotel. foreign tourists and business people, participants in exhibitions that take place at the All-Russian Exhibition Center, anyone who finds the hotel’s location convenient.

Three stars - Izmailovo Hotel

The history of the Izmailovo Hotel is closely connected with the history of the city of Moscow. In 1980, Moscow was chosen as the center for the Olympic Games. The city expected a large influx of foreign athletes, fans and reporters, attracted by the spectacular games and competitions of the central sporting event of the year.

It was decided to build a hotel in the greenest district of Moscow - Izmailovo.

A large team worked on the project for the construction of the Izmailovo hotel: architects D. Burdin and Yu. Rabaev, engineer E. Skorodumov, famous sculptor Z. Tsereteli and many others.

As a result, a worthy architectural monument was built in Moscow in four years, for the work on which the authors were awarded a state prize.

Despite the fact that participation in the 1980 Olympic Games was boycotted by the majority of capitalist states, many guests and participants gathered.

According to the creators' idea, the hotel and tourist complex was supposed to be connected with the Olympic Games at all levels: both in spatial embodiment and in color design. The Olympic rings, symbols of the continents of the Earth, were taken as a basis. That is why the Izmailovo Hotel is a complex of five high-rise buildings of 30 floors each, two of which are connected at the ends. And the names of the buildings were given according to the letters of the Greek alphabet: Alpha, Beta, Vega, Gamma-Delta. The buildings of the complex were located around the square on which the concert hall was built.

The people called them in the Russian manner - “ABVGD-ykoy”. All 5 buildings could simultaneously accommodate up to 10 thousand people, which was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. Of course, during the construction of such a facility of international importance, the advanced technologies of that time were initially used; the interior of the hotel and equipment met international standards of safety and service.

Thus, the hotel heat supply system is not inferior in power to three district boiler houses. During the construction of Izmailovo, innovative developments of Soviet scientists were also used: a system for automatic registration of numbers, mechanical dust and smoke removal. The developers also introduced a fundamentally new ventilation and air conditioning system and sprinkler fire extinguishing system.

After the Olympic Games, Izmailovo was transferred to the USSR hotel department and the buildings were opened to accommodate ordinary citizens and guests of the capital. Later, the hotel complex hosted more participants in mass and all-Union international events - the Goodwill Games, the Festival of Youth and Students, and the Spartakiads of the Peoples of the USSR. According to the Soviet classification of service level, Izmailovo corresponded to the level of Intourservice.

After the collapse of the USSR, a period of reforms began, and the Izmailovo hotel complex did not escape the problems of that time: centralized management of the hotel complex and budget financing ceased. It should be noted that the management of the Izmailovo hotel did not make the worst decision - the enterprise was corporatized and put up for a privatization loans-for-shares auction, not in its entirety, but in parts. This move allowed potential buyers to more profitably privatize hotel buildings in parts. Thus, Izmailovo in the structure hotel business in the 90s it began to be positioned as 5 independent hotel enterprises. This is a separation between commercial and economic activity exists even now, but Muscovites still perceive their favorite ABVGDeika as a single hotel complex.

Currently, all buildings of the Izmailovo hotel and tourist complex correspond to a three-star level of service according to international certification.

Two stars - hotel "Slavyanka"

Hotel “Slavyanka” is also a hotel “with history”. This year it turned 77 years old, most of which it was known as the Central House Hotel Soviet army(CDSA), becoming “Slavyanka” only in 1995.

It was built on the site of the demolished Church of St. John the Warrior on Bozhedomka. The place itself was associated with the army.

At the Slavyanka Hotel in different time Many famous military leaders stayed, in particular A.I. Pokryshkin, I.N. Kozhedub. During the Great Patriotic War, the most distinguished front-line soldiers were housed here, who came to the capital to receive government awards and underwent rehabilitation after treatment in hospitals. At this time in the history of the hotel there were moments when there were cots even in the corridors. Future generals and marshals of our army spent many nights there. French pilots of the Normandie-Niemen regiment also lived here.

Comrades could find lost fellow soldiers. The heroes of the defense of the Brest Fortress often held meetings there. There is a lot of evidence of chance meetings between veterans who thought they would never see each other again.

The current management of Slavyanka would like to have a corner of the hotel’s history, but so far cannot find many important documents. For more than 60 years, the hotel was a structural unit of the Central House of the Soviet Army, but there is not a word about it in the documents. Only orders for personnel have been preserved.

Muscovites and guests of the capital who pass by the gray seven-story building, at the entrance to which there are sculptures of a pilot and a tankman in the uniform of the 30s of the last century, believe that the inside of the military hotel has not changed much since its opening.

The management of “Slavyanka” was even approached by the film crews of the historical film with a request to film in the old interiors. Imagine the director’s surprise when it turned out that there was virtually nothing left of the hostel hotel as it had been for many years, of the old pre-war and post-war situation. Perhaps only the sculptures at the entrance, which have become a striking attraction of “Slavyanka” and near which both domestic guests and foreigners love to take pictures.

And today in Slavyanka every guest is welcome, but special treatment here, of course, is for military personnel and members of their families. It offers visitors 305 comfortable rooms of various categories. The Slavyanka Hotel has a convenient location: in the city center, near the Russian Army Theater and the Olimpiysky sports complex. At the same time, prices for accommodation are affordable for many.

Congress hotel - “Iris Congress Hotel”

For many decades, the name of Svyatoslav Fedorov has been associated with the concept of progress in medicine. In the sixties, he began to solve the most complex problem in medical and social aspects - replacing the clouded lens with an artificial one. And in the late seventies, he offered the world another innovative technology - relieving patients of myopia using incisions (“notches”) on the cornea.

After multifaceted experimental studies, Svyatoslav Nikolaevich carried out the first successful implantation of an intraocular lens in the USSR, thereby opening a new direction in science. The following decades proved the promise of his chosen scientific direction. Only in Russia S.N. Fedorov and his students performed about 1.5 million such operations.

However, few people know that Svyatoslav Fedorov was involved in the opening of the first world-class chain hotel in the USSR.

In 1989, he decided to build a luxury hotel at the Eye Microsurgery MNTK for wealthy foreign clients who came to Moscow to undergo eye surgery. The French company Bouygues was invited to design and build the hotel.

The Iris project was the first for the company in Russia. Subsequently, Bouygues had many successful projects in the Russian Federation - construction shopping centers "Atrium" and "Mega Belaya Dacha", as well as the reconstruction of the Main building of Moscow State University in Moscow, the building Hyatt Hotel in Yekaterinburg, etc.

Fedorov assumed that Foreign citizens They will be more willing to come to the USSR if they are offered all the conditions for living at the highest level.

The architecture of the hotel was unique for Russia. Many people associated the external cladding of the hotel with coastal hotels in world resorts.

In addition, for the first time, the hotel featured a huge atrium, with a dome shaped like the iris of the eye. And the hotel itself was shaped like a human eye.

The French chain Accor was involved in managing the hotel. This was one of the first foreign operators in the nascent Russian market. The French managed the hotel under the luxury brand Pullman Iris 5*, which opened its doors to its first guests in early 1991.

Some associated the name of the object with the Latin word “iris,” which means the iris of the eye, while others deciphered it as the capital letters of the names of Fedorov’s wife, Irena, and himself, Slava.

In 1993 Management Company replaced the hotel brand with a more democratic one - Sofitel Iris 5*.

During times of shortage, many citizens came to Iris to get acquainted with French cuisine, since the Champs-Elysees restaurant functioned on the ground floor, where one could enjoy oysters and Beaujolais.

However, after the collapse of the USSR and the successes of Japanese doctors in the field of ophthalmology, Fedorov’s plans collapsed like a house of cards. Iris never saw the influx of wealthy guests with low vision. And in 1998, the Accor chain left the project, and the hotel, the construction of which was carried out with loan funds, went under the hammer after the tragic death of Fedorov.

However, with the development of the hotel business in Russia, it became clear that a hotel whose location is far from the city center (Korovinskoe highway, building 10) cannot in any way be called “five-star”. The hotel is changing owners, who are transforming the management system, trying to find Iris's niche in the market. The hotel was renamed the Iris Congress Hotel.

The focus on conferences and events has been the hotel's economic savior. Positioning from this perspective allowed us to double the facility’s revenue. Introduced in the mid-2000s new owner Amtel Properties is increasing its focus on congress services.

And the fact that there is a registry office next to the hotel has provided the Iris Congress Hotel with orders for weddings and other celebrations for years to come. Because in terms of quality and services provided, few hotels in the capital can compete with Iris.

An interesting fact is that Fedorov planned to build an operating room in one of the hotel halls. And according to legend, he managed to carry out several successful operations in it.

Over the course of 20 years, its guests included famous people: prominent politicians, scientists, musical groups, domestic and foreign pop stars, famous coaches and athletes - participants in the Formula 1 race, famous football, basketball and hockey teams.

And now the hotel retains its individuality and history. Thus, the unique architecture and interiors attract the attention of not only guests, but also filmmakers - feature films and TV series are regularly filmed within the hotel’s walls.

The hotel has 201 rooms, including 20 two-room suites and one presidential suite. Iris also includes: a fitness center, 12 conference rooms and meeting rooms, a multifunctional transformable hall with a stage, a business center, parking and several lawns for barbecue.

Anastasia Kremenchuk

In the old days, on the corner of Mokhovaya and Tverskaya streets, there were stone flour shops; in the mid-1890s, the Balaklava tavern was located here. A few years later, ownership passed to the Varvara joint-stock company of homeowners, which in 1900 began construction of a first-class hotel designed by the architect Alexander Vasilyevich Ivanov, an architect who by that time was already well known in Moscow, who built the office building of the Morozov Tver Manufactory Partnership on Varvarka and the house of the insurance company "Russia" on Lubyanka Square. The hotel, called “National”, received its first guests in 1903.

The facades of the building were made in a mixture of styles, combining neo-Renaissance with neoclassicism and Art Nouveau details, which gives them the impression of stylistic uncertainty, but at the same time conveys individual character. The architect used natural stone and ceramic tiles, stucco molding and smooth plaster in the decoration. The corner attic was decorated with a majolica panel “Apollo and the Muses”, made at the Moscow Butyrka ceramic factory of S. I. Mamontov “Abramtsevo” by artists S. V. Chekhonin and A. Ya. Golovin. Soon after the revolution, it was replaced by another panel, on an industrial theme, made according to the sketches of F. I. Rerberg, all at the same Abramtsevo plant.

The interiors amazed with their luxury and splendor: marble staircases, mosaic floors, huge stained glass windows, figures of Atlanteans near the entrance to the elevators, painted ceilings. Furniture in the rooms made to special order from precious wood. A whole range of modern technical innovations: electric elevators, telephones, a steam heating system manufactured at the San Galli foundry. Many rooms were equipped with bathrooms and water closets.

Hotel accommodation was not cheap (up to 25 rubles per day ) , but there was no end to the number of guests - rich industrialists, merchants, and foreign diplomats willingly stayed here. In 1913, Nicholas II’s uncle, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, lived in “National”. Prominent figures of Russian culture also did not shy away from the luxurious hotel - Ivan Bunin, Anna Pavlova, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov lived here at different times.

The fate of the hotel changed greatly after 1917. During the October battles, the building was damaged by artillery shelling. And immediately after the capital was transferred from Petrograd to Moscow, members of the Soviet government settled here for some time before moving to the Kremlin in a “modest” bourgeois environment: Lenin, Sverdlov, Trotsky, Dzerzhinsky. For many years, the hotel became the “1st House of Soviets” - a hostel for functionaries of the new government. Its hotel status was returned only in the early 1930s. At the same time, its name was finally fixed - “National” (before the revolution, both names were used), apparently more in line with the spirit of the times. The building underwent a major renovation. At the same time, its appearance was partially changed: the lower floors were repainted to resemble granite, and oak window frames were replaced with aluminum ones. The hotel furnishings were replenished with furniture from the Anichkov and Tsarskoye Selo palaces.

In 1974, the ceilings of two halls on the second floor were decorated with painted lampshades made by the artist I.V. Nikolaev in the classic style of ceiling painting of the school of old masters, but at the same time with elements of the newer decorative school of V.A. Favorsky. In the details and ornaments of the lampshades, features of the World of Art aesthetics are noticeable, which emphasizes the connection with the works of famous artists of the Benois-Lancer family, from which the author himself comes.

In the same 1974, “National” was included in the list of state-protected historical and cultural monuments.

Speaking about the hotel, one cannot fail to mention the famous hotel restaurant - for many years it was a favorite place for a pleasant pastime among the intelligentsia and Soviet bohemia.

Despite repeated renovations that were carried out in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, attempts to modernize the hotel, it fell into disrepair. And at the end of the 1980s, its comprehensive reconstruction and restoration began. Based on the results of the competition, the general contractor was chosen - the Austrian company Rogner, and the authors of the restoration project were architects from Austria V. Hoffelner and E. Survillo. On the Russian side, specialists from the Moscow department for the design of public buildings and structures, Mosproekt-2, took part in the restoration of the National. All work was completed in 1995, and the renovated hotel again opened its doors to its guests. And in her lifetime she has seen a lot of them, including famous ones. Presidents have also stayed here different countries, and members of royal families, and famous cultural figures from all over the world.

In Russia and the CIS, interesting hotel projects are rare - for all obvious reasons. However, there are several hotels. Our selection includes ten Russian designer hotels, two in Georgia and one each in Azerbaijan and Ukraine, with accommodation costs ranging from 2,350 to 30,000 rubles per night.

Barvikha Hotel&SPA

Where: Russia, Barvikha, Rublevo-Uspenskoe highway, 114/3
When open: end 2008
Architecture/design: Antonio Citterio, Ekaterina Rutkovskaya
How much does it cost per night: on booking.com - from RUB 30,000. for a double room (breakfast included)

The hotel building would fit well into the Eskpo exhibition town, which, as you know, is always designed by the very best architects. At the same time, it fits perfectly into the surrounding landscape - and here we mean not only the most expensive village in Russia, Luxury Village, where the hotel is located, but also the Moscow region pine forests: the hotel’s wood-trimmed facades become, as it were, a continuation of them. The interior is also dominated by natural materials (wood, marble, linen) and colors (chocolate, vanilla, sand), and the furniture, made by B&B Italia according to designs by Antonio Citterio specifically for the hotel, does not scream about its exclusivity, but is organically included in the space. // barvikhahotel.com

11 Mirrors

Where: Ukraine, Kyiv, st. Bohdana Khmelnitsky, 34A
When open: November 2012
Architecture/design: Anatoly Kirik and Marina Leo
How much does it cost per night: on booking.com - from 18,426 rubles. for a double room (breakfast included)

In working on the project of this hotel, its owner Vladimir Klitschko became for the designers Anatoly Kirik and Marina Leo what Stalin was for Iofan: an ideologist and, in fact, a co-author. Which speaks only in favor of the boxer: the hotel became the only one in the CIS to join the international association Design Hotels. In addition, in 2012 it received the International Hotel Award in the category “Best Small Hotel”. The narrow eleven-story building with a granite facade combines modern design and 19th century architecture century. The hotel's interior is dominated by mirrors and glass - which means air and lightness, which are always in short supply in large capitals. // 11mirrors-hotel.com

Rooms Hotel Kazbegi

Where: Georgia, Stepantsminda, st. Vakhtanga Gorgasali, 1
When open: summer 2012
Architecture/design:
How much does it cost per night: on booking.com - from 8469 rub. for a double room (breakfast included)

From the village of Stepantsminda (until 2007 - Kazbegi) climbs to the second highest point Caucasus Mountain Kazbek, which rises in all its glory above the village. Nata Dzhanberidze and Keti Toloraya from the Rooms bureau came up with a convincing reason not to leave the village. The mountains, which enter the hotel space through the panoramic windows of all rooms and design it, certainly attract all the attention of hotel guests. The interior, as it were, only frames this grandiose picture: natural wood, stones, light and air, home comfort that does not contradict modern laconicism - if there is a place more in tune with Kazbek, it is only a tent under its peak. // roomshotel.ge

This panorama deserves special attention.

W St.Petersburg

Where:Russia, St. Petersburg, Voznesensky prospect, 6
When open: June 2011
Architecture/design: Vladimir Grigoriev / Antonio Citterio
How much does it cost per night:on booking.com - from RUB 14,160. for a double room (breakfast not included)

Hotels of the W chain have some constant, which does not change from city to city (for example, a branded W-bed), and a variable, which expresses the author's style of designers and architects. In this case, Italian designer Antonio Citterio also had the task of fitting the hotel into the culturally and historically rich urban context. Citterio coped with the task brilliantly - in places literally: the color scheme is dominated by chrome and gold. The restrained beauty, straight lines and open spaces characteristic of St. Petersburg shape the interiors of the W Hotel, into which the St. Isaac's Dome and other views of the city penetrate as the most important feature through huge windows. // wstpetersburg.ru

JW Marriott Absheron Baku Hotel

Where: Azerbaijan, Baku, Azadlig Square, 674
When open: December 2012
Architecture/design: ReardonSmith Architects
How much does it cost per night: on booking.com - from RUB 10,007. for a double room with a single bed and from 12,508 rubles. for a double room with a double bed (breakfast not included)

It cannot be said that the architectural design of the hotel is striking in its novelty and boldness, but perhaps this is exactly what a lifetime monument to a successful resource-based economy should look like: glass, symmetry and elevation above the city. The specialists of the British firm ReardonSmith, obviously, acted within the framework of the order - and settled into this Procrustean bed with all possible elegance. And although the rooms in the JW Marriott Absheron are quite standard for a five-star hotel, without any interior revelations, in the lobby and other public spaces the designer managed to solve a very difficult task. Namely, to pronounce the word luxury so that it does not sound abusive. //marriott.com

Grand-Hotel & Spa Rodina

Where: Russia, Sochi, st. Vinogradnaya, 33
When open: July 2006
Architecture/design: Mateo Thun, Domus Aurea Design Interiors Group
How much does it cost per night: on booking.com -from 23,200 rub. for a double room (breakfast included)

A striking example of an acute, and therefore spectacular, discrepancy between form and content: minimalism in the packaging of Stalinist architecture. The living quarters were designed by the court decorators of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands - Suzanne Loggier and Patrick Brugman from Domus Aurea Design Interiors Group. They designed every detail of the interior of all forty hotel rooms specifically for Rodina. There is, however, a semantic connection between the outside and the inside - public spaces with marble floors and crystal chandeliers, designed by the Italian Mateo Thun, build a bridge from Stalinist neoclassicism to modern ideas about beauty and comfort. // grandhotelrodina.ru

Rooms Hotel Tbilisi

Where: Georgia, Tbilisi, st. Kostava, 14
When open: October 2014
Architecture/design: Nata Dzhanberidze and Keti Toloraya (Rooms design bureau)
How much does it cost per night: on booking.com - from RUB 19,395. for a double room (breakfast not included)

The second hotel of the chain, named after the design studio Rooms, which was responsible for the design of both hotels. Rooms Hotel Tbilisi is located in the very center of the Georgian capital in the building of the former Samshoblo printing house. Thanks to the efforts of Nata Dzhanberidze and Keti Toloraya, the concrete ruins acquired a loft-bohemian chic. The key components of interior decoration are wood and leather. Plus, each room (there are 141 in total) is decorated with wallpaper self made, including with silk-screen patterns. There are many vintage items placed in the halls and rooms - they add atmosphere to the hotel. //roomshotels.com

DoubleTree by Hilton Moscow - Marina

Where: Russia, Moscow, Leningradskoe highway 39, building 1
When open: October 2014
Architecture/design: ADM bureau, Frontarchitecture architectural bureau together with Martin Hulbert Design
How much does it cost per night: on the hotel website - from 12,000 rubles. for a room with two single beds and from 13,500 rubles. for a double room with one large bed (breakfast not included)

Situated on the banks of the Moscow River, the hotel was designed by ADM to the strict standards of the Hilton brand, which in practice means extremely simple forms and straight corridors. The architectural studio Frontarchitecture was responsible for the interior design. The interiors are made in warm colors and furnished with furniture made from natural materials. // hilton.ru

Mriya Resort & Spa

Where: Russia, Crimea, Yalta, p. Opolznevoye, General Ostryakov Street, 9
When open: August 2014
Architecture/design: Norman Foster
How much does it cost per night: on booking.com - from RUB 7,099. for a double room (breakfast included)

This year-round resort, which includes a five-star hotel (408 rooms and 14 villas), medical and spa centers, was designed by the famous Norman Foster, the author of Wembley Stadium and the Millennium Bridge in London. In September 2016, the complex, shaped like either an elegant flower or an alien ship, was recognized as the best in Europe according to the World Travel Awards - an analogue of the Oscars for tourism industry. // mriya.me

Boutique Hotel "Rodniki"

Where: Russia, Vladimir region, Alexandrov, 80 km from MKAD
When open: February 2013
Architecture/design: Mikhail and Dmitry Ganevich from the Atrium architectural bureau
How much does it cost per night: on booking.com - from 21,000 rub. for a suite with a bedroom and living room and a terrace overlooking the forest (breakfast included)

A complex consisting of 6 cottages (2 rooms in each), a spa center and a restaurant, contrary to stereotypes about the Russian country hotel does not look like a hut or an estate. The asymmetrical buildings made of concrete and glass with sloping roofs are made in a modern style. The interior decoration uses mainly stone, wood and shingles. Each room is equipped with heated floors, a fireplace, a dressing room and a terrace with a garden. The hotel also operates a complex with a Finnish sauna and a Japanese furako sauna. // rodniki-hotel.ru

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