Where to stay when you leave.
Former Stasi Headquarters in Berlin To Become Luxe Leonardo Hotel
3/13/2008 at 9:15 AM
Tags: Hotel Hype, Berlin Hotels, Leonardo Hotels
Leonardo Hotels, the European subsidiary of the Israeli-based company Fattal Hotel Management Ltd., now is converting the former East German Stasi police headquarters into a new luxury hotel to be called the Leonardo Royal Berlin.
For those unfamiliar with the Cold War years, the Stasi were East German Secret Police who reigned supreme from the previously walled-in city of East Berlin.
The historic building is slated for preservation, so the new hotel will keep the exterior facade of the Bauhaus-style property in tact, as well as the interior décor, which includes marble, lighting and a vaulted lobby ceiling. The renovation will cost $45 million and when completed the hotel will have 304 rooms including 43 suites and first-class guest services.
But you can't book reservations just yet, as the hotel won't open until August 2009.
The new conversion brings the number of Leonardo Hotels in Berlin to four, including the Airport Hotel Berlin-Schoenefeld, the Hotel Best Western Leonardo Berlin, and the Hotel Excelsior. Fattal had 25 Leonardo hotels across Europe by end of 2007, and the company plans to buy 25 more in 2008.
Fattal Hotels in Israel are located throughout the country, from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east, and the Red Sea way down south. Accommodating all budgets, the hotels offer active, romantic, combined business/convention-recreation and a wide range of family vacation destinations.
Before you go, however, you might want to pick up Stasi: The Untold Story of the East German Secret Police by John O. Koehler, whose narrative details the widespread activities of the East Germany's Ministry for State Security (Stasi), which proved to be one of the most powerful secret police and espionage services in the world.
Related Stories:
Israeli builds hotel in former Stasi building [Globes.com]
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