Four Seasons Hotel Moscow

The Four Seasons Hotel Moscow is a modern luxury hotel in Manezhnaya Square in the Tverskoy District, central Moscow, Russia. It opened on October 30, 2014, with a facade that replicates the Soviet Hotel Moskva of the 1930s (Russian: Гости́ница «Москва́»), which previously stood on the same location. It is located near Red Square, and in close proximity to the pre-revolutionary City Hall.[1]

Four Seasons Hotel Moscow
Four Seasons Hotel Moscow, main facade on Manezhnaya Square
Four Seasons Hotel Moscow is located in Central Moscow
Four Seasons Hotel Moscow
Location within Central Moscow
General information
LocationMoscow, Russia
Coordinates55°45′25″N 37°37′00″E
OpeningDecember 1935 (original building)
October 30, 2014 (current building)
Technical details
Floor count15
Design and construction
Architect(s)Alexey Shchusev
Other information
Number of rooms180
Website
Official website

It was operated by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts from its opening until 2022, when the chain ceased managing the hotel due to economic sanctions imposed on Russia resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[2] The hotel continues to use the name, though it is no longer part of the international chain.

History

Original structure

The first Hotel Moskva was built in sections from 1932 to 1938. The partially-completed hotel opened in December 1935.

The hotel was notable for its use of two different designs for the wings off the central structure. The most popular (possibly apocryphal) explanation is that Shchusev submitted a single conceptual drawing of the façade to Stalin, with one half showing one design option and the other half a different design option for the wings of the building. According to the story, Stalin signed off on the drawing, without noticing the two options. Afraid of informing Stalin that he had failed to select a design, the decision was made to simply construct one wing of each design option, on either side of the building. One included large windows and a more ornate façade, while the other maintained the smaller windows and simpler details of the rest of the hotel's façade.[3] The lobby of the original hotel contained an entrance to the Moscow Metro Okhotny Ryad station. Anti-aircraft guns were installed atop the hotel during the Battle of Moscow. The label of Stolichnaya vodka features a line drawing of the hotel.[4] The Hotel Moskva was expanded in 1977, for the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution. A new 6-story wing was built in the rear, facing Revolution Square. The Hotel Moskva was demolished in 2004.

Modern Structure

The original structure had become too dated to serve the needs of a first class hotel, so it was completely demolished and replaced with a replica, which added modern facilities inside and an underground parking garage. The first portion of the new complex, facing Revolution Square, was built on the site of the dismantled 1977 wing. Housing offices and a shopping center, Fashion Season, it opened in 2012.[5]

The hotel portion, on the site of the 1935 building, replicates the iconic facade, following Shchusev's exterior plans as accurately as possible. It opened on October 25, 2014[6] as the Four Seasons Hotel Moscow.[7]

As of 2016, Russian businessman Alexey Khotin owned the hotel.[8] Four Seasons Hotels ceased managing the hotel in March 2022, due to economic sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine,[9] but the hotel continues to use their name, although it is no longer associated with the chain.

See also

References

  1. "Moscow Hotel History". Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  2. "Столичный отель Four Seasons переименовали в Legend of Moscow". Вечерняя Москва (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-11-13.
  3. "Москву" хотят перестроить". July 2002. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  4. Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images (29 September 2010). "Moscow: Mayor Yuri Luzhkov's legacy". the Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  5. "ТГ "Модный Сезон"". Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  6. Hotel News Resource (2 July 2014). "Four Seasons Hotel Moscow to Reopen October 30". Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  7. "Luxury Hotel in Moscow - Moscow Hotel - Four Seasons Hotel Moscow". Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  8. "Four Seasons Hotel Moscow owner invests in oil business". RosBusinessConsulting. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016.
  9. "Столичный отель Four Seasons переименовали в Legend of Moscow". Вечерняя Москва (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-11-13.
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