Russian Government to Auction Luxury Hotel National

The Moscow government intends to auction luxury 5-star hotel National, a historic landmark in the heart of Russia’s capital and one of its most famous hotels, the city’s government said earlier in a week. National hotel has once numbered Vladimir Lenin among its guests (Lenin lived here in 1918, after the Bolsheviks seized power and moved from St. Petersburg).

Experts say the Hotel National’s market price may reach $54-72 million. The details of the sale will be determined after Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin signs off on the proposal.

The Moscow government intends to include the hotel’s 100 percent share package in the city’s privatization program for 2011-2013. The first major privatization came in February when VTB bought up a 46 per cent stake in Bank of Moscow.

The National, built by tsarist-era architect Alexander Ivanov in 1903, sits near the entrance to Red Square, opposite the Kremlin’s northern wall. The historical grandeur and understated elegance of the property, together with state-of-the-art technology, makes Hotel National a favourite destination for sophisticated global travellers visiting Moscow.
In September 2009, the hotel joined The Luxury Collection by Starwood, a glittering ensemble of more than 70 of the world’s finest hotels and resorts in more than 30 countries around the globe.

The hotel’s 205 guest rooms and 56 suites are richly decorated with antique Russian objects d’art. Each room is extremely stylish, embodying a turn-of-the-century elegance.
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