Hotel Tequendama

Hotel Tequendama & Centro de Convenciones (Convention Center) is an historic hotel in Bogotá, Colombia. It is located in the San Diego neighborhood of the town of Santa Fe at the intersection of Tenth Avenue and Twenty-Sixth Avenue. The hotel, designed by Holabird & Root, John Burgee, and the Colombian architectural firm Cuéllar Serrano Gómez, was constructed between 1950 and 1951. Between 1967 and 1970, the hotel was expanded to double its original size.

For other uses, see Tequendama (disambiguation).
Hotel Tequendama
Hotel Tequendama is located in Bogotá
Hotel Tequendama
Location of Hotel Tequendama in Bogotá
General information
StatusIn use
AddressCarrera 10 #26-21
Town or cityBogotá
Country Colombia
Coordinates4°36′46″N 74°4′22″W
Elevation2,598 metres (8,524 ft)
Construction started1952
Completed1953
Inaugurated17 May 1953
OwnerSercotel
Height70 metres (230 ft)
DesignationsHotel
Other information
Number of rooms573
Website
Official website

History

The Hotel Tequendama occupies the grounds of the former San Diego cloister, the Superior School of War, the Military School and the Ministry of Defense. The hotel was the first building constructed in the Centro Internacional Tequendama complex. Its construction took place within the framework of the expansion of Tenth Avenue. When first constructed, the hotel adjoined the Centennial Park. The hotel was the tallest building built in the city in the 1950s.[1]

On May 17, 1953, Hotel Tequendama was inaugurated with a banquet attended by the President of Colombia, Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez. Between 1967 and 1970 an extension was built in the same style as that of the original building. At this time, the hotel's main entrance was relocated to Tenth Avenue, the building was given a T-shaped plan, several conference rooms were added, and its capacity was doubled. For more than 50 years, Hotel Tequendama was managed by the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) for the InterContinental Hotels and Resorts brand. So, it was known until 2007 as Hotel InterContinental Tequendama. That year it was announced that the hotel would switch to the Crowne Plaza brand of the Inter Continental Hotels Group (IHG). So, the hotel was renamed Hotel Crowne Plaza Tequendama.[2] The hotel Is considered a national monument in Bogotá.[3]

Etymology

Tequendama is a word derived from the Chibcha language of the Muisca, who inhabited the Bogotá savanna in the times before the Spanish conquest. It means "he who precipitates downward".[4]

  • View of the hotel
    View of the hotel
  • Hotel view with TransMilenio bus
    Hotel view with TransMilenio bus
  • Hotel Tequendama to the left, Avenida Calle 26 and Monserrate in the background
    Hotel Tequendama to the left, Avenida Calle 26 and Monserrate in the background
  • Mural of the Muisca deities in the lobby of the hotel
    Mural of the Muisca deities in the lobby of the hotel

See also

References
  1. (in Spanish) El Hotel Tequendama de aniversario - El Tiempo
  2. Fontana & Mayorga, 2008, p.99
  3. (in Spanish) Edificios más altos de Colombia
  4. (in Spanish) Etymology Tequendama

"In Bogota" - Joan Didion, _The White Album_

Bibliography
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