“Ladies and gentlemen, our hotel, should always be a second home for our guests”, – with these words, its founding manager Jacob Zellermeyer instructed his staff of the Palast-Hotel at the beginning of the twentieth century. To this day, employees of the Premier Palace Hotel still hear the same words from their managers. The hotel has been following the rules of perfect professional hospitality for more than a century.
Palast Hotel
On March 12, 1912, Zellermeyer placed an advertisement in the “Kievlyanin” newspaper, informing the high society audience that the new Palast-Hotel was offering 4 exquisite halls, first-rate restaurants and cafes. There was no need to mention that the hotel had comfortable rooms, central heating, water supply, electricity, telephone, and a lift, because it was erected by the renowned Lev Ginzburg, who had other buildings in Kyiv in which he combined true artistic taste and advanced engineering.
In 1895, Ginzburg bought the estate of the knyaz Zhevakhov on the corner of Bibikovsky Boulevard (currently Shevchenko Boulevard) and Novoelizavetinska Street (currently Pushkinska Street). Initially, his company main office was located at this address, but in 1908, on the side of Bibikovsky Boulevard, he decided to clear the area which is now part of the hotel. It was built by architect Eduard Bradtman, a graduate of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts who worked in Kyiv from 1898. In 1910, the construction of the hotel Novoelizavetinsky began. Architects Adolf Minkus and Favel Troupyansky from Odessa worked on the project. On January 1911, the Kyivans finally saw a façade whose style combined the elements of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, and a year later, the owner Mendel Getsovich-Mirkin announced its grand opening. It happened at the same time when Jacob Zellermeyer placed an advertisement in the newspaper that attracted the attention of the Kyiv residents. This began the long and rich history of what would be known as Kyiv’s best hotel.
Palast Hotel
Palast-Hotel was a seven-storey building with 150 elegant and comfortable rooms that offered first-class services. In its first year of operation, the hotel hosted many guests, especially when an All-Russia exhibition was held in Kyiv. The hotel also offered transport services: at the request of the guests, a horse carriage or a car with a driver would be waiting for them at the front door. The restaurant and the cafe was able to host more than 1,000 guests at a time and proved to be a popular venue for luxurious receptions and respectable public meetings, with fresh newspapers available in what were known then as reading rooms. The hotel’s fame quickly grew across the empire and far beyond its borders. In many respects, the hotel was far ahead of its time, but it also had to endure continued misfortunes that Kyiv and the whole country would face over and over again.
When a struggle for power appeared in Kyiv, the hotel was caught in the centre of the battlefield. For some time, it was used as a German Consulate building, and later, it would become the residence of the Turkish Ambassador. It was in his apartment in 1918, that the last Ukrainian hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky decided to lay down his mace. For many years, a free Ukrainian state would cease to exist, but for the hotel, it would continue in the context of a new country with new historical circumstances and under a new name: Palast-Hotel would be renamed as the “Palace” and later the hotel would become “Ukraine”.
During the Second World War, the hotel would suffer great damage that would result in connecting the two Ginzuburg buildings during reconstruction into one modern hotel as we see today.
Throughout the times, the most famous guests from all over the world would choose this hotel. They include Vera Komissarzhevskaya, Lyubov Orlova, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Vladimir Vysotsky, and Alexander Vertinsky. In order to take refuge from fans, who would consistently disturb him even in the hotel, Leonid Utyosov would put a note on the door: “Do not disturb, or bad singing will be heard at the concert!”. Other guests of “Premier Palace” have included Sophia Loren, Ornella Muti, Jean Reno, Jerzy Hoffman, Condoleezza Rice, Brian Adams, Enrique Iglesias, Patricia Kaas, and many others.
In 1999, the hotel was reconstructed and regained its high status and historical name. As the new millennium began, a new era was ushered in. In 2001, the Premier Palace Hotel became the first five star hotel in Ukraine. In honour of its famous guests, there are thematic rooms that possess elements of different historical epochs: they include the “Hetman” room, which is decorated in Ukrainian Baroque style and has a panoramic semi-luxe, as well as the “Roksolana” room. There are also rooms named after well-known guests who have lived in the hotel, such as “Lyubov Orlova”, “Vladimir Vysotsky”, “Serge Lifar”, and many others. In 2003 the hotel became the flagship of the Ukrainian Premier Hotels and Resorts hotel chain.
Today, modern conference rooms, internet facilities mixed with a wide range of impeccable services continue to surpass the level of even the most discerning guests. But, it is important to note that the Premier Palace Hotel has a unique advantage that no other hotel can boast across Europe: It has a rich history and tradition of hospitality which are consistently being improved every day.
Premier Hotels and Resorts – the first Ukrainian hotel chain with the collection of hotels graded from 5 to 3 star.
www.phnr.com
+38 044 359 08 08
