{"id":2636,"date":"2023-06-24T08:05:01","date_gmt":"2023-06-24T15:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=2636"},"modified":"2023-06-24T08:05:01","modified_gmt":"2023-06-24T15:05:01","slug":"history-lives-on-in-significant-buildings-repurposed-into-luxury-hotels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/travel\/2636\/history-lives-on-in-significant-buildings-repurposed-into-luxury-hotels","title":{"rendered":"History Lives On in Significant Buildings Repurposed into Luxury Hotels"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Havana\u2019s<\/a>

Havana\u2019s El Floridita was, like northern Michigan, an Ernest Hemingway Haunt. Photo by Peter Franks<\/p><\/div>\n

Travelers get \u201ctwo for the price of one\u201d when your hotel is not only near a historical site but is, itself, a property of significance \u2013 and one which allows you, during your stay, to be a part of its legacy. Architectural Digest has named Detroit\u2019s new, 117-room Roost at Book Tower Hotel one of the most beautiful repurposed buildings in the world.<\/p>\n

Dan Gilbert\u2019s Bedrock real estate company, which also created the Motor City\u2019s Shinola Hotel, spent $400 million over seven years to restore the Italian Renaissance-style, 38-story office building that was, when constructed in 1926, Detroit\u2019s tallest.<\/p>\n

Architectural Digest included only two other U.S. buildings: Boston\u2019s Liberty Hotel and Emporium Arcade Bar in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

Kempinski Hotels deserves the praise the company receives for its record of renovating and preserving historic buildings around the globe by turning them into vibrant, luxury hotels which become landmark destinations and social hubs. Kempinski Hotels, recommended by the Virtuoso Luxury Travel Network\u2019s top providers, have been created in places such as a courthouse in Yangon, Myanmar; an 1858 Bavarian royal guesthouse in Munich; the neoclassical Central Telegraph Building in Vilnius, Lithuania; Singapore\u2019s Capitol Building \u2013 a former theater; plus have invested in current renovations in the Dresden, in Germany\u2019s Saxony region, to name just a few.<\/p>\n

Kempinski\u2019s Ciragan Palace, on Turkiye\u2019s Bosphorous River dividing Europe and Asia in Istanbul, dates to the Ottoman eras Sultans of the 17th<\/sup>\u00a0century. Guests, just like the world-famous royals, heads of state and artists who have stayed there, can marvel at the marble of the Imperial Turkish Hamam. This fairytale property belongs on the list of Istanbul\u2019s tourist treasures, which includes Maiden\u2019s Tower, Blue Mosque, Cistern, Grand Bazar and Byzantine Hagia Sophia.<\/p>\n

One of Kempinski\u2019s more recent renovated and restored openings is the Gran Hotel Manzana in Old Havana, Cuba, where the exterior architecture of the UNESCO World Heritage buildings is as vital to the local character as the classic pastel-colored Buicks, Thunderbirds, Chevrolets, and yellow tuk-tuk taxis lined up out front.<\/p>\n

Gran Manzana\u2019s rooftop restaurant and bar, swimming pool deck and spa spaces provide panoramic views of the surrounding buildings including the eye-candy of the renovated capitol dome, Bacardi headquarters, and, just across the street, the El Floridita Bar \u2013 the \u201cCradle of the Daquiri\u201d Ernest Hemingway made popular.<\/p>\n

Gran Manzana, in the historic Manzana de Gomez building, is now considered Cuba\u2019s most luxurious hotel, but a museum in the hotel basement displays photos of the original construction and building, which was once a school and shopping mall, and maintains an entire wall of the original, rocky foundation.<\/p>\n

Outside Kempinski\u2019s realm, Hotel Brunelleschi, created within a sixth-century, circular Byzantine tower and medieval church hidden in Florence, Italy\u2019s city center, is so historically significant author Dan Brown included it in his book \u201cThe Da Vinci Code (he described it as \u201cliving in luxury.\u201d) Hotel Brunelleschi, recommended by IC Bellagio, Italy\u2019s premier travel advisor, is a stone\u2019s throw from the iconic, 1436 Duomo cathedral and all of Florence\u2019s dramatic churches, famed museums and the Ponte Vecchio.<\/p>\n

Contact Michael Patrick Shiels at\u00a0<\/em>MShiels@aol.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0His radio program may be found at\u00a0MiBigShow.com or weekday mornings\u00a0from 9-noon\u00a0on WJIM\u00a0AM 1240<\/em><\/p>\n

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A stay at a Kempinski Hotel like that of the Gran Hotel Manzana in Old Havana, Cuba offers comfort, luxury and also a taste of history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":2638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[676065,4998,1044560],"class_list":["post-2636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-kempinski","tag-michael-patrick-shiels","tag-kempinski-hotels"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2023\/06\/Kempinski-Hotel-La-Florida.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2636"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2640,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2636\/revisions\/2640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}