Rocco Forte Hotel de Rome

Rocco Forte Hotel de Rome, 2009

The Rocco Forte Hotel de Rome is a luxury hotel in Berlin's district center of the district of the same . It belongs to the Rocco Forte Hotels , is located at Behrenstraße 37 on Bebelplatz and was opened in October 2006. The name of the hotel is reminiscent of the Grand Hotel de Rome , which was around 400 meters away until 1910. The St. Hedwig's Cathedral and the State Opera Unter den Linden are in the immediate vicinity .

The Hotel de Rome belongs to the hotel group The Leading Hotels of the World .

history

Dresdner Bank, 1926

Hotel and St. Hedwig's Cathedral (left)

The building, built between 1887 and 1889, served as the headquarters of Dresdner Bank until 1945 . It was designed by the architect Ludwig Heim in the Italian Renaissance style and originally had three floors. In 1923 three more floors were added according to plans by Ludwig Hoffmann , which were dismantled in 1952 when the war damage was repaired in accordance with Richard Paulick's intended harmonization of the proportions.

During the GDR era, it served briefly as a cinema, the seat of the SED's district management and then as the GDR's state bank . After German reunification in 1990, large parts of the building complex stood empty for more than a decade. The building is a listed monument.

Conversion

In 2003 Commerz Grundbesitz Investmentgesellschaft acquired the eastern part of the former Dresdner Bank headquarters . It includes the core, the completely preserved part on Französische Strasse and the intermediate part on Hedwigskirchgasse. The new owner rented the property to Rocco Forte for 20 years.

The former offices of the bank directors are currently used as oak-paneled suites. On the terrazzo floor of the former counter hall - today's ballroom - are the names of the bank's main branches: Dresden , Bremen , London and Berlin .

The hotel's spa is located in the bank's former vault . The 15 centimeter thick steel doors now lead into a treatment room. Gold leaf mosaics on the walls are intended to remind of the bank's gold reserves that were kept here. The hotel swimming pool is located in the former vault of the lockers.

The hotel has 108 rooms and 37 suites designed by Olga Polizzi (* 1946), the daughter of company founder Charles Forte .

The hotel has the Italian restaurant La Banca , the name of which refers to its former use as a bank, and the bar The Rooftop Terrace .

Awards

2013: European Finest Hotels: One of the 70 best hotels in Europe
2013: Varta Guide : Recommendation
2013: Der Feinschmecker : Restaurant Parioli is one of the best Italian restaurants in Berlin
2017: Forbes Travel Guide : Five-Star Hotel Rating Award
2018: Busche Gala Awards: Hotel of the year 2019