The former Grand Hotel du Boulevard in downtown Bucharest, one of the oldest and most beautiful buildings in the Romanian capital, will reopen its doors in late-2019, under the Corinthia Hotels luxury brand.

Corinthia Hotels, a Malta-based international luxury hotel company, announced on March 28 its plans to expand its five-star hotel portfolio with the opening of a new luxury property in Romania’s capital. The future Corinthia Grand Hotel du Boulevard Bucharest, which is to open on December 1, 2019, the day when Romania celebrates its National Day, will offer over 50 rooms and suites, dining options, a grand ballroom, boutique meeting spaces, and luxury amenities.

“Built in 1867, the listed building was last used as a hotel over a decade ago and will now undergo extensive refurbishment to sit in line with the signature standards of timeless luxury and style associated with Corinthia,” reads the press release. The work is expected to start in the second quarter of 2018.

“The hotel follows Corinthia’s tradition of restoring 19th century grand hotels across Europe. The award-winning Corinthia Hotel London, Corinthia Hotel Budapest, formerly the Grand Hotel Royal, and Corinthia Hotel St Petersburg, Russia, are all 19th century landmark properties which have been acquired, redeveloped and relaunched by Corinthia Hotels. In Brussels, the former Grand Hotel Astoria was acquired in 2016 and works are currently underway to transform the property back to its original splendour.”

In the Romanian capital, Corinthia Hotels’ role will be that of operator under terms of a management agreement signed on March 5, 2018 with owning company NIRO Investment Group. QP Management, a sister company of the Corinthia Hotels group, will support the developers with project management and cost management services.

Grand Hotel du Boulevard is considered an iconic landmark property in Bucharest. The four-storey building was originally designed by Romanian architect Alexandru Orascu, who was also responsible for the design of Bucharest’s University, and is classed as a monument of Culture and Architecture by the Ministry of Culture. Sitting at the crossroads of Calea Victoriei and Bulevardul Elisabeta, the hotel was at the core of Bucharest’s social scene for many years.

Corinthia is a collection of luxury five-star hotels founded by the Pisani family of Malta in 1962. Since 2000, Corinthia has evolved into a multifaceted public company, trading as International Hotel Investments plc, which is the owner, developer or operator of each Corinthia Hotel and commercial real estate worldwide.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com