Marriott Plaza Hotel, Buenos Aires
(Buenos Aires)
The Buenos Aires Marriott Plaza Hotel is a five star establishment located in the city's Retiro section.[1]
[edit] Overview
The Marriott Plaza was originally developed by local landowner and banker Ernesto Tornquist. Facing San Martín Plaza, the nine-story hotel was designed by German architect Adolf Zucker and built at the northern end of Florida Street. The establishment was inaugurated as the Plaza Hotel on July 15, 1909, with the presence of President José Figueroa Alcorta. The hotel's developer, Ernesto Tornquist, had died in 1908, however.[2]
Touted at the time as the finest hotel in South America, it was also its most modern. The original 160 rooms and 16 suites each had central heating and telephone access, and all were accessible via elevators. The hotel was wholly furnished at its outset by the prestigious London houses of Thompson & Company and Warin and Gillow. Marble sculptures by Gustav Eberlein of Germany and ceiling frescoes by Julio Vila y Prades of Spain added to the hotel's decor. Two new wings were added between 1942 and 1948, and additional work completed in 1977 brought the total number of rooms to nearly 400.[2]
The administration was transferred to the Washington, DC-based Marriott Hotels Group in 1994 for a period of 30 years while the property are still in Tornquinst's descendants. Following a US$10 million refurbishment, the establishment was awarded a five star rating;[1] the hotel today maintains 270 rooms and 48 suites. In 2009 the hotel received a facelift on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, celebrated with tours for the local people and a book retelling its fabulous and centennial history.[3]
[edit] Famous guests
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- Andre Agassi
- Louis Armstrong
- Neil Armstrong
- Björn Borg
- Charles Bronson
- Enrico Caruso
- Michael Collins[disambiguation needed
] - Charles De Gaulle
- Indira Gandhi
- Rock Hudson
- Juan Carlos I of Spain
- Julián Marías
- José Ortega y Gasset
- Luciano Pavarotti
- Edith Piaf
- Nelson Piquet
- Raphael
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Albert Sabin
- Queen Sofía of Spain
- Rabindranath Tagore
- Arturo Toscanini
[edit] References and external links
Coordinates: 34°35′46″S 58°22′29″W / 34.59611°S 58.37472°W
