Grand Hotel, Sopot

Sofitel Grand Sopot
Grand Hotel Sopot (2010)
Interactive map of the Sofitel Grand Sopot area
Hotel chainSofitel
General information
LocationSopot, Poland, ul. Powstańców Warszawy 12-14
OpeningJune 30, 1927
OwnerSinfam Investments
OperatorAccor
Design and construction
ArchitectsOtto Kloeppel, Richard Kohnke, Erich Laue
Other information
Number of rooms126[1]
Website
www.sofitelgrandsopot.com/pl

The Sofitel Grand Sopot is a historic five-star beachfront resort hotel on Gdańsk Bay in Sopot, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland.

History

Kasino-Hotel dance terrace, 1930s

The Kasino-Hotel opened on June 30, 1927.[2] Built at a cost of 20 million Danzig gulden, it was designed by architect Otto Kloeppel and engineer Richard Kohnke as the most luxurious hotel in Zoppot, at the time located in the Free City of Danzig.[3][4]

The hotel was requisitioned by the Germany Army during the occupation in World War II. Between 19–26 September 1939, the hotel served as Adolf Hitler's headquarters, from which he went twice to the outskirts of Warsaw to oversee the invasion of the city. After the war, with Sopot now part of Poland, the hotel was renamed Grand Hotel Sopot in 1946 and placed first under the management of the Gdynia America Line[5] and then, from 1951-1954, under the management of their state-owned successor, the Polish Ocean Lines. In 1954, Orbis, the state travel monopoly, assumed ownership and management of the hotel.

Between 11–16 September 1966, the hotel hosted the 16th Pugwash Conference entitled Disarmament and World Security, Especially in Europe.[6]

On 13 December 1981, the hotel was the site of Operation "Mewa" (Seagull) carried out by the communist secret Security Service (SB) in which a group of Solidarity movement political dissidents was arrested including Lech Dymarski, Jacek Kuroń, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Karol Modzelewski and Jan Rulewski.[7]

In 1990, the hotel launched a casino, the third in Poland after Warsaw and Krakow. In 2006, the French Accor chain assumed management and the hotel was renovated, reopening as the Sofitel Grand Hotel on December 21, 2006.[8][9] In 2007, the hotel opened a spa.

Orbis sold the hotel to Sinfam Investments in 2024, but Accor continues to manage the property.[10]

Famous guests

Grand Hotel Sopot at night
Front view

Some of the hotel's prominent guests include:[11][12][13]

See also

54°26′51″N 18°34′06″E / 54.44750°N 18.56833°E / 54.44750; 18.56833

References

  1. ↑ "Sofitel Grand Sopot". Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  2. ↑ https://www.sofitelgrandsopot.com/history-of-grand-hotel-in-sopot/
  3. ↑ "Sofitel Grand Sopot - Hotel z historią". Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  4. ↑ "Historia Sopotu". Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  5. ↑ https://www.sofitelgrandsopot.com/history-of-grand-hotel-in-sopot/
  6. ↑ "Proceedings of the Sixteenth Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs; Disarmament and World Security, Especially in Europe, Sopot, Poland, September 11-16, 1966". Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  7. ↑ "Polowanie na Solidarność". Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  8. ↑ https://famoushotels.org/news/grand-hotel-sopot-poland-back
  9. ↑ "Sofitel Grand Hotel Sopot History | Hotels In Sopot Poland". Historic Hotels Worldwide. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  10. ↑ https://wbj.pl/sofitel-grand-sopot-sold-by-accorinvest/post/144257
  11. ↑ "Sopocki Grand miał szczęście. Uratowała go podobno butelka wódki". Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  12. ↑ "Sopot - Grand Hotel". Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  13. ↑ Alex Webber. "From Hollywood A-listers to pop star hipsters, TFN goes on the trail of where the rich and famous stay when in Poland". thefirstnews.com. Retrieved 4 February 2023.