There are many hotels in the world that are valuable not only for their location and convenience, but also for the historical events that took place in them. Together with Forbes Life, we selected six hotels where important political and cultural events took place.
King David Hotel, Jerusalem, Israel
End of British rule in Palestine
The luxurious five-star King David Hotel, opened in 1931, has hosted King George V, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, as well as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Gere. , Madonna – the list goes on. However, it is famous not only for its great and celebrity guests.
The hotel played an important role in the formation of the state of Israel. When the Arab Revolt broke out in 1936, the British Army rented the entire top floor of the King David as emergency headquarters. The British telephone exchange was located in the basement, and the military police and the Palestinian criminal investigation department were located in the outbuildings.
On July 22, 1946, members of the Jewish underground organization Irgun planted a bomb in the hotel basement. The explosion collapsed the southwest corner of the building’s south wing, killing 91 people and injuring 46. However, the hotel remained in use by the British administration until May 4, 1948. When the British left the hotel, the Israelis used it as an administrative building. Shortly after the end of the Six Day War, King David finally opened its doors to guests and guests again.
The rich history is not the only advantage of “King David”. Guests here are provided with luxurious rooms, two swimming pools, a spacious garden overlooking the Old City and as many as 4 restaurants, one of which, La Regence, is considered one of the best in Jerusalem.
Rate for 1 night: from 35,850 ₽
Hotel Nacional de Cuba, Havana, Cuba
Gathering of Mafiosi and Rich Cuban History
The Hotel National opened in Havana on December 30, 1930, and over its more than 80-year history has become a unique symbol of Cuba. The hotel’s registration book can be read as a directory of famous and influential people of the 20th century: Winston Churchill, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Marlon Brando, Alexander Fleming, Yuri Gagarin were noted here. And Frank Sinatra more than once shot number 225 for actress Ava Gardner.
It was at the National that in December 1946 a meeting of the leaders of the American underworld took place, which is reflected in the film The Godfather II. The negotiations between the iconic figures of the American mafia – Lucky Luciano and Meer Lansky – took place in a luxury room on the second floor. They say it was here that the “mob accountant” Lansky doomed the famous gangster Bugsy Siegel to death.
The walls of the hotel bear traces of Cuba’s turbulent history: they contain potholes from bullets fired in 1933, when Carlos Manuel de Cespedes became president of the country as a result of an armed uprising. During the Cuban Missile Crisis of the 1960s, anti-aircraft guns were installed near the hotel to repel attacks by American aircraft. And in 1997, opponents of Fidel Castro organized a terrorist attack in the hotel building – as a result of the explosion, several people were injured.
For a long time there was no tourism in Cuba, and mainly diplomats and representatives of foreign countries stayed at the hotel. In 1990, the hotel was completely renovated, and two years later it finally began welcoming tourists again. Today anyone can stay at the hotel.
Cost for 1 night: from 10,100 ₽
Metropol, Moscow
Confrontation between the Bolsheviks and the White Guards
Moscow’s Metropol, a luxury five-star hotel, was at the very center of the October Revolution of 1917. In the literal sense of the word: from November 7 to November 15 (old style), the hotel was occupied by military school cadets who fought fiercely with the Bolsheviks. “Metropol” turned into a besieged fortress, the battles for which were fought for six days and ended only after artillery was used against the cadets, and then the hotel was stormed, led by M. V. Frunze. The Metropol was then seriously damaged by shelling.
After the Soviet government moved to Moscow in 1918, Metropol became one of the main residences of the new government. It was even called the “Second House of Soviets” (the first was the National Hotel). Until 1919, the Metropol hosted meetings of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, at which Lenin and Trotsky spoke, and Sverdlov’s reception room was located on the second floor. Prominent Bolsheviks lived in the rooms – Georgy Chicherin, Nikolai Bukharin, Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko.
The Metropol regained its status as a world-class hotel only in the early 1930s. Bernard Shaw, Mao Zedong, Marlene Dietrich, John Steinbeck, Jean Marais, Paul Mauriat, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Montserrat Caballe, Luc Besson, Catherine Deneuve, Sharon Stone stayed at the hotel at various times. And Sergei Prokofiev and Alexander Kuprin lived in a hotel for some time.
Today anyone can rent a room at Metropol. The rooms are large and luxurious, and the views of the city center are simply stunning. You can have breakfast at the Evropeisky restaurant, and in the evening drink wine at the stylish Shalyapin bar. A sauna, massage room and beauty salon are also available for guests.
Rate for 1 night: from 9700 ₽
Ye Olde Bell, Berkshire, England
Plans to overthrow the monarch James II
This small village inn, founded in 1135, has seen a lot over the years. Initially it was a small guest house at the nearby Benedictine monastery. Later, travelers often stopped here on their way from London to York. But the main historical event took place here in the 17th century.
In Ye Olde Bell, or rather, in the secret tunnel that connected the hotel with the monastery, conspirators met who planned to overthrow the King of England and Scotland, James II. Perhaps, thanks also to Baron John Lovelace and other conspirators, they managed to organize the “Glorious Revolution” – a coup in 1688, as a result of which the king was overthrown, and his nephew William of Orange ascended the throne, during whose reign England began to turn into a powerful power.
And in the hotel itself, as a memory of those events, there is a fireplace and next to it a door to a secret tunnel. The tunnel itself no longer exists, but a picture of it from those times hangs above the fireplace. The door, by the way, is quite small by our standards: people at that time were shorter.
Ye Olde Bell’s historical mission in the 17th century did not end: the hotel continued to welcome great guests. For example, during World War II, Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower negotiated here. Movie stars have also stayed at this hotel – Greta Garbo, Mae West, Cary Grant, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton – as Ye Olde Bell is located near Pinewood Studios.
Today it is a lovely historic hotel with 49 individually decorated rooms. Guests can enjoy antique furniture and modern amenities – shower, Wi-Fi, TV. Restaurant 1650 serves national cuisine, and the bar offers Yorkshire ale on tap.
Rate for 1 night: from 7400 ₽
The Mayflower, Washington, USA
Franklin Roosevelt wrote his inauguration speech
The four-star Mayflower Hotel is included in the Historic Hotels of America list. It is located just 800 meters from the White House, which is probably why Franklin Roosevelt stayed there in 1933.
The then future US President lived in room 776 for several days before the inauguration. They say it was here that he wrote his speech, in which he included the famous phrase “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
The hotel is also associated with the name of Eliot Spitzer, former governor of New York, known as “Client 9”. In the Mayflower, he made appointments with women of easy virtue, on whom he spent about 80 thousand dollars, partially taken from the budget.
The Mayflower is now one of the Autograph Collection hotels. It has more than 500 comfortable rooms decorated in a modern style, restaurants, bars and a 24-hour fitness center.
Cost of 1 night: from 18,459 ₽
The Fairmont San Francisco 5*
The meeting at which the decision was made to form the UN
A list of hotels where historically significant events took place would be incomplete without the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Since its opening in 1907, most of the important events for the city and the whole country took place there. And one of the most important happened in 1945.
It was this year that a meeting of delegates from 50 countries took place in Fairmont, at which a decision was made to form the United Nations (UN). In the hotel’s Garden Room, a draft version of the UN Charter was written, about which a memorial plaque has been preserved.
Also, every American president without exception, starting with Truman, stayed at Fairmont in San Francisco. Additionally, hotel guests included Rudolph Valentino, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and Marlene Dietrich.
Today it is a luxurious modern five-star hotel. It has three restaurants and an excellent spa center, as well as a fitness club, and guests do not need to take sportswear and sneakers with them on their trip – the hotel provides everything they need. Also located at the hotel is the Tonga Room & Hurricane, famous for its performances and the unusual atmosphere of the Amazonian jungle in the heart of the city.
Cost of 1 night: from 24,366 ₽
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