The InterContinental Dhaka is a prominent luxury hotel in Ramna in central Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It opened in 1966 and is owned by the Bangladeshi government.
| InterContinental Dhaka | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
  Location within Bangladesh | |
| Former names | Hotel Inter-Continental Dacca Sheraton Dhaka Hotel Ruposhi Bangla Hotel |
| General information | |
| Type | Hotel |
| Location | 1 Minto Road, Ramna, Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| Opening | 1966 |
| Owner | Bangladesh Services Limited |
| Management | InterContinental Hotels |
| Other information | |
| Public transit access | MRT Line 6 Shahbagh |
Location
editThe vicinity of the hotel includes the Shahbag roundabout, the Suhrawardy Udyan, Ramna Park, the Dhaka Club, the University of Dhaka, BSMMU, BIRDEM Hospital, the Bangladesh National Museum and official state guest houses.
History
edit
The Inter-Continental Dacca opened in 1966, when the city, then known as Dacca, was the capital of East Pakistan. The hotel was the first international five-star hotel in what would soon become the nation of Bangladesh. It was designed by architect William B. Tabler.[1]
The hotel played host to many important political events in the run up to the independence of Bangladesh, including negotiations on the transfer of power after the 1970 elections. During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, it was declared a neutral zone by the International Red Cross.[2] Many buildings in its surrounding neighborhoods were targeted by the Pakistani military, including newspaper offices and university halls.[3] It was attacked during Operation Hotel Intercontinental which caused deaths of many Pakistani soldiers.[4]
InterContinental Hotels operated the hotel until 1983, when it was taken over by Sheraton, becoming the Sheraton Dhaka Hotel. In 2011, Sheraton announced that it would end its contract with the Bangladeshi government to manage the hotel, which was renamed the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel.[5] In 2013, it was announced that InterContinental Hotels would re-assume management of the state-owned property, following a major renovation. The hotel closed on September 1, 2014, and reopened as the InterContinental Dhaka[6] on December 19, 2018.[7] Sheraton later opened a separate hotel in the Banani area of Dhaka.
References
edit- ^ "InterContinental Hotel Corporation Digital Archives". Neal Prince, AIA, ASID.
- ^ H.D.S. Greenway. "The War Hotels: Bangladesh". GlobalPost.
- ^ Ahmed, Anis (3 October 2014). "Hotel InterContinental : Memories abound as Inter Continental returns to Bangladesh". The Daily Observer. Dhaka.
- ^ "Operation Hotel Intercontinental: "HIT & RUN"". The Daily Star. 2014-12-06. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
- ^ "InterContinental returning to Dhaka". newstoday.com.bd. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
- ^ "Ruposhi Bangla ends operation". The Independent. Dhaka. 2 September 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
- ^ "InterContinental Dhaka Hotel Opens in Bangladesh".