In November 1987, the creative team of director Sergei Solovyov arrived in Yalta to film the film “Assa”. Among other places, the film took place in the Oreanda Hotel, an old Yalta hotel built in Art Nouveau style back in 1907.
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Snow-white, located on the Yalta embankment among the greenery of palm trees and magnolias, this hotel has been a calling card of the city since its construction. Its first owner, Alexander Witmer, is a retired general of the hussar regiment of Danish origin, professor of military history and tactics at the Academy of the General Staff, writer and zemstvo activist. Under Witmer, the smell of cigars mixed with the aroma of freshly ground coffee and expensive perfume in the hotel lobbies; Aivazovsky, Shishkin, Makovsky, Vereshchagin exhibited in the art salon. After the revolution, Oreanda was a boarding house, a health resort, a closed sanatorium for NKVD workers, and in the 1980s – a hotel of the Intourist system. And initially, the hotel administration stubbornly refused to provide the filmmakers with a room for filming. But, they say, Sergei Solovyov sent a telegram directly to Mikhail Gorbachev, and by a miraculous coincidence it helped.
According to the plot, Stanislav Govorukhin’s hero Krymov rented two rooms at the hotel – for himself and nurse Alika. However, little remains of those interiors – in 2001 the hotel underwent a large-scale reconstruction. Now a single classic room in the low season will cost 4,400 rubles per night. And the apartment called “Assa”, where the filming actually took place, costs almost 40 thousand rubles (the price is indicated for accommodating four people). This is a three-room suite (living room, study and bedroom) with an area of 93 sq.m., with a balcony overlooking the sea. There is a jacuzzi in the bathroom and an electric fireplace in the living room.
After reconstruction, on the site of the indoor court where the heroes played tennis, an entertainment complex grew up, a bowling alley, a billiards room and a children’s playground appeared. In addition, guests can enjoy outdoor and indoor seawater swimming pools, a spa and fitness center, bars and restaurants, a nightclub and a private beach, located just a couple of minutes walk from the hotel.
The famous cable car is still nearby, which leads from the embankment to Darsan Hill, which became a landmark after the release of the film. The funicular offers views of the sea, mountains and the old town. The 200-year-old Nikitsky Botanical Garden is a 15-minute drive away. Here, artists from the Lilliputian Theater performed excerpts from the operetta “Silva” on the summer stage, and also filmed scenes where Krymov was being monitored on video.
By the way, the director initially did not intend to film snow-covered beaches. But clear weather suddenly gave way to snowfalls, and after a week of inactivity, it was decided to continue filming without waiting for the weather to improve. It is not surprising that after “Assa” Yalta became much more popular in the off-season and winter.
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Author: Elena Novikova-Kitaeva
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