PHOTO: Palace Hotel Zagreb Celebrates 111th Anniversary

During the renovation of the Palace Hotel for the purpose of obtaining a green certificate, a time capsule was discovered. On this occasion, a press conference was held to mark the 111th anniversary of the hotel.

Tomislav Kuliš, director of Palace Hotel Zagreb, expressed his satisfaction with the record success in 2017, despite four months of operation without the first floor and halls that were not in use due to renovations. He also added that the fact that all employees received a thirteenth salary speaks to the success.

Martina Bienenfeld, director of the Zagreb Tourist Board, expressed her satisfaction with the contributions of Palace Hotel to the growing tourist offer of the city of Zagreb and added that Palace is one of the few hotels that has earned a double categorization, in addition to the four-star rating since 2012, it can also boast the status of a “heritage hotel” awarded by the Ministry of Tourism.

A bit more about the renovations to make the hotel “green” was shared by Gojko Šimunović, a graduate engineer in mechanical engineering who participated in the installation of heat pumps that will help the Palace Hotel operate in harmony with nature.

– In the world, tourism is responsible for five percent of harmful gas emissions, and this figure mostly relates to hotels. In the near future, the construction of a photovoltaic and solar power plant on the roof of the hotel is planned, alongside the roof reconstruction plan. The motto of sustainable hotels is to have as little impact on the environment as possible, which Hotel Palace is actively working on, he said.

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Dr. Tajana Pleše, director of the Croatian Restoration Institute, shared more about the history of the hotel and the restoration process of this valuable find at the Department for the Restoration of Archaeological Metal.

Academician Tomislav Sabljak, a guest of the conference and the hotel, shared his anecdotes from the Palace café during his gatherings with famous personalities such as Miroslav Krleža, Orson Welles, Živko Jeličić, and others. Croatian writer and academic Luko Paljetak is also a frequent guest at the Palace Hotel, and on this occasion, as a guest of the conference, he wrote several appropriate verses.

Hotel Palace is located in a palace built in 1891 for Karl Schlesinger. It opened in 1907 and has been continuously operating since that year. It is the first organized and professionally managed hotel in Zagreb. Since then, it has been upgraded and adapted several times, and now 122 rooms combine modern technology with old Art Nouveau style.