Babylon Rotana Baghdad Hotel

The Babylon Rotana Baghdad Hotel is a 284-room hotel on the banks of the Tigris River, in the Al-Jadriya district of Baghdad, Iraq.

Babylon Rotana Baghdad Hotel
فندق بابل أو بابيلون ورويك (Arabic)
Babylon Rotana Baghdad Hotel, 2016
General information
Architectural styleYugoslav Modernism[1]
LocationBaghdad,  Iraq
Coordinates33.2911°N 44.3904°E / 33.2911; 44.3904
Opening1982
OwnerAl Ibaa Company
ManagementRotana Hotels
Design and construction
Architect(s)Edvard Ravnikar together with Majda Kregar, Edo Ravnikar Jr & Miha Kerin[1]
Architecture firmLovćeninženjering[1]
Main contractorElliniki Techniki S.A.
Other information
Number of rooms284

History

The hotel's architecture is a Ziggurat, in the form of a terraced step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels. It was designed by Slovenian architect Edvard Ravnikar and was originally intended to be built as a beach resort at Budva in Montenegro, in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[1] When that project fell through, the plans were re-used and slightly adjusted for the new site in Baghdad.[2]

The hotel originally opened in 1982 as The Babylon Oberoi, managed by Oberoi Hotels & Resorts.[2] The interiors were designed by Indian architect Sunita Kohli. Oberoi severed their connection with the hotel due to the 1991 Gulf War. On January 25, 2010, the Babylon Hotel was the site of a car bomb attack.[3] The hotel joined the Warwick Hotels and Resorts chain in October 2014 as the Babylon Warwick Hotel. On May 29, 2015, it was hit by another deadly car bomb attack.[4] On January 9, 2019, the hotel ended its contract with Warwick Hotels and Resorts, signed a contract with Rotana Hotels on January 20, 2019.[5] The hotel was renamed Babylon Rotana Baghdad Hotel on February 1, 2019.[6]

References
  1. Niebyl, Donald (29 March 2020). "10 Works of Yugoslav Modernist Architecture in Africa & the Middle East". The Spomenik Database. The Spomenik Database. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  2. Kulić, Vladimir (30 December 2014). "Building the Non-Aligned Babel: Babylon Hotel in Baghdad and Mobile Design in the Global Cold War". ABE Journal. Architecture beyond Europe (6). doi:10.4000/abe.924. Retrieved 8 May 2023 – via journals.openedition.org.
  3. "Bomb Attacks On Iraq Hotels Kill At Least 36". Sky News. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010. January 25, 2010
  4. "Chaos in Baghdad as synchronised bombs kill 15 at luxury hotels". Independent.co.uk. 29 May 2015.
  5. UAE, Rotana Hotels-. "About Rotana Hotels Management Corporation: News Room". Rotana.com. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  6. "Babylon Rotana Baghdad Hotel Announced".

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