NH Gran Hotel Provincial
| NH Gran Hotel Provincial | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Mar del Plata, Argentina |
| Coordinates | 38°00′21″S 57°32′29″W / 38.00583°S 57.54139°W |
| Opening | February 18, 1950 February 8, 2009 |
| Owner | NH Hotels |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 4 |
| Floor area | 77,500 square metres (834,000 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Alejandro Bustillo |
| Developer | Province of Buenos Aires |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 469 |
| Number of suites | 12 |
| Number of restaurants | 1 |
| Parking | 600 |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
The NH Gran Hotel Provincial is a historic five star beach resort hotel in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
Overview
[edit]The hotel is one of a pair of twin buildings designed in 1937 by architect Alejandro Bustillo. Inspired by the seafront Hotel du Palais in Biarritz, France, the hotel and neighboring Casino Central remain architectural landmarks of the city of Mar del Plata as well as of Argentina. The Casino opened on December 22, 1939 and President Ramón Castillo inaugurated the Rambla in December 1941. Work on the 500-room hotel slowed, however, and it was not completed for nearly ten years. The hotel's lobby featured murals painted by César Bustillo (the architect's son) and its decoration was planned by famed French designer Jean-Michel Frank (who was in Argentina at work on the Llao Llao Hotel) together with Casa Comte.
The structure was completed in 1948 and the Hotel Provincial opened on February 18, 1950, and was long the largest in Argentina. The neighboring Casino Central was the largest in the world by floor space until the 1990 opening of Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, in Atlantic City.[1]
Operation of the publicly-owned hotel was privatized in 1984, with the concession granted to Empresa Hotelera Americana. Ongoing losses led the operator to withdraw from the business at the end of 1998, and the provincial government closed the hotel.[1]
The hotel remained shuttered for a decade, until the province obtained an investment bid from Madrid-based NH Hotels, in April 2008. Following US$30 million refurbishment directed by local architect Alejandro Novakovsky, the hotel reopened on February 8, 2009.
Its 77,500 square metres (834,000 sq ft) of floor space includes 469 rooms and 12 suites, as well as a convention center.[2]
The hotel has hosted numerous Mar del Plata Film Festivals, as well as the 2010 Ibero-American Summit.[3] Its more notable international guests have included actors Gina Lollobrigida and Paul Newman.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b La Nación: Reabrirán el hotel Provincial el grupo NH (in Spanish)
- ^ Via Rosario: Gigante recuperado (in Spanish)
- ^ "Final para otras jornadas históricas en Mar del Plata". La Capital (in Spanish). December 5, 2010.
- ^ Hotel Provincial de Mar del Plata, un paseo y su historia Archived 2010-12-18 at the Wayback Machine Crítica de la Argentina: Ícono de una época de esplendor (in Spanish)