Crowne Plaza Belgrade
| Crowne Plaza Belgrade | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Hotel Continental | |
| Location | Novi Beograd, Serbia |
| Address | Vladimira Popovića 10 |
| Opening date | 1979 |
| Owner | NBGP Properties |
| Rooms | 417 |
Crowne Plaza Belgrade will be five-star hotel located in the New Belgrade area of the City of Belgrade, Serbia. The hotel was originally built as the Beograd Inter-Continental, part of the InterContinental hotel chain.
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Hotel information [edit]
Crowne Plaza Belgrade hotel will be completely renovated. In September 2013, hotel will be reopened under the name Crowne Plaza Belgrade, which belongs to the brand InterContinental Hotels Group.
New "Crowne Plaza" will have 417 rooms, 14 conference rooms as well as a choice of restaurants and bars. In addition to a complete renovation of the building interior and installations, spacious glass façade will also be replaced. The glass panels over 30 years old will be replaced with a new glass facade with a significantly better energy performance. As the building is protected, a new three-layer glass panels will be exactly the same with the old ones in color and shape. As for the interior, there won’t be any significant interventions as it is built to the highest standards, so that 33 years later no functional adjustments are necessary.
Works are currently focused on replacing the facade and interior installations. The new facade is placed at the same time as the old panels are being removed. First they removed the panels on the side of Milentija Popovic street and currently they are installing new glass panels. On the side facing the river is still possible to see parts of the old façade being removed. The interior of the building was completely stripped and is currently undergoing replacement of old systems and installations.
The work on reconstruction of the hotel building is contracted to "Exing B & P", while in charge of the design is London bureau "Virgile and Stone".[1]
History [edit]
Continental Hotel Belgrade 2006 - 2012 [edit]
Continental Hotel Belgrade had 415 rooms (112 twin bedrooms, 273 queen bedrooms, 28 suites, 2 presidential suites), including 30 apartment suites. The hotel also contains Executive and Club floors. The hotel contains eight banquet and conference rooms are on the mezzanine and represent an ideal place for organizing conventions, congresses, receptions, ceremonies, banquets and fashion shows. In July 2012 it was closed, in order to prepare for reconstruction. Works began in September and will run for 12 months. Hotel was bought in 2008 by the 'Delta Holding', who has since signed a new management agreement with IHG, rebranding the famous hotel as a part of the "Crown Plaza" chain. The entire investment is estimated at 35 million Euros. [2]
Continental Hotel Belgrade also had a sports and recreation centre which includes tennis courts, gym, solarium, sauna, massage, indoor swimming pool and pool-bar.
The Hotel also offers the services of the Business Center, as well as restaurant services.
InterContinental Belgrade 1979 - 2006 [edit]
The hotel was opened 1979 under InterContinental umbrella with the name Hotel Beograd InterContinental. It symbolized one of the first Western hotel chains entering the market of communist Yugoslavia that was experiencing growing tourism from the West. In addition to foreign visitors, throughout the 1980s, the luxurious hotel facilities also became popular with the local politicians, celebrities, and sports figures. As example, in December 1991, the mediatic wedding ceremony between folk music star Lepa Brena and tennis player Slobodan Živojinović was held at the hotel. In 1990, InterContinental Beograd got some competition with the luxurious Hyatt Regency Belgrade being opened across the road.
After the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia, the sanctions were imposed onto Serbia as well as total economic and international isolation. The hotel became pretty much empty. Financial growth plummeted to lowest levels, however InterContinental opposed the closure and continued upgrading facilities at their hotel in Belgrade. The restaurant in the hotel became popular with the Serbian nouveau riche population. Even though the prices were high it was still popular.
During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 the hotel was the place where political parties led their meetings and foreign diplomats stayed.
Željko Ražnatović, a mobster and prominent paramilitary leader during the Yugoslav Wars was shot and killed in the lobby of the hotel in 2000. The incident was broadcast across the world.
After sanctions were dropped against Serbia, democratic power was restored, tourism started to recover and the hotel started making profits.
Brand name change [edit]
On July 6, 2006 the hotel lost its InterContinental license, and in 2007 was renamed Hotel Continental and then Continental Hotel Belgrade. The owner of the hotel is the Delta Holding company.
References [edit]
External links [edit]
Coordinates: 44°48′34″N 20°26′02″E / 44.80944°N 20.43389°E
