Interhotel

Interhotel was an East German chain of luxury hotels. It was founded in 1965 as a chain.

Interhotel
IndustryHotels
Founded1965
Defunct2006
Headquarters
German Democratic Republic 
Number of locations
37
Area served
East Germany (prior to reunification)
ServicesLodging, dining
OwnerMinistry for State Security

Originally, the hotel chain consisted of a hotel each in Berlin, Erfurt, Jena and Magdeburg, two hotels in Chemnitz (then Karl-Marx-Stadt) and five hotels in Leipzig.

5-star hotels were exclusively for guests from non-socialist states, 4-star hotels were mainly for guests from Comecon countries, for example, Park Inn Berlin (then Stadt Berlin) was built for Soviet people. There were also some 3-star hotels in smaller towns, such as "Hotel Elephant" in Weimar.

Practically all luxury hotels in East Germany were part of the Interhotel chain, notable exceptions being hotel "Neptun" in Warnemünde and Cecilienhof castle in Potsdam. The Verband Deutscher Konsumgenossenschaften (VDK), the union of consumer co-operatives in the GDR also ran hotels, mainly 4 star and three star hotels such as the Konsum Erholungsheim in Oberhof, which is still part of what remains of the co-operative movement in Germany.

After German reunification, most of the hotels were still run by Interhotel AG. In 1991, some hotels were sold to the Klingbeil group, and in December 2006 some were sold to the Blackstone Group.

The Interhotel hotels were under the control of the East German state security service, the Stasi, under the Tourist Department. The Stasi tried to monitor the activities of international tourists, by sending prostitutes to audio- and video-controlled hotel rooms. They focused on hotels where political decisions were discussed, such as Hotel Bellevue in Dresden.

List of Interhotel hotels

Berlin
  • Grand Hotel Berlin - renamed Maritim Grand Hotel Berlin 1992, renamed The Westin Grand Berlin 1997
  • Palasthotel - renamed Radisson SAS Hotel Berlin 1992, closed 2000, demolished 2001 for construction of a new Radisson SAS Hotel Berlin, renamed Radisson Blu Hotel Berlin 2009
  • Hotel Metropol - renamed Maritim Hotel Metropol 1992, rebuilt and renamed Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin 2000
  • Domhotel - renamed Hilton Berlin 1991
  • Hotel Stadt Berlin - renamed Forum Hotel Berlin 1993, renamed Park Inn by Radisson Berlin Alexanderplatz 2003
  • Hotel Unter den Linden - demolished 2006
  • Hotel Berolina - demolished 1996

Dresden
  • Hotel Bellevue - renamed Maritim Hotel Bellevue 1992, renamed The Westin Bellevue Dresden 2000, renamed Bilderberg Bellevue Hotel Dresden 2020
  • Hotel Dresdner Hof - renamed Hilton Dresden 1992
  • Hotel Newa - renamed Hotel Mercure Newa Dresden 1992, renamed Hotel Pullman Dresden Newa 2008
  • Hotel Astoria - closed 1992, demolished 1998[1]
  • Motel Dresden - renamed Hotel am Bismarckturm 1990, closed and demolished soon after
  • Hotel Lilienstein - renamed ibis Dresden Lilienstein 1992, renamed The Student Hotel Dresden 2018
  • Hotel Königstein - renamed ibis Dresden Königstein 1992
  • Hotel Bastei - renamed ibis Dresden Bastei 1992

Erfurt
  • Hotel Erfurter Hof - closed 1995
  • Hotel Kosmos - renamed Radisson SAS Hotel Erfurt 1995, renamed Radisson Blu Hotel Erfurt 2009

Gera
  • Hotel Gera - renamed Maritim Hotel Gera 1992, demolished 1997

Halle
  • Hotel Stadt Halle - renamed Maritim Hotel Halle 1992[2], converted to refugee housing 2016, closed 2017[3]

Jena
  • Hotel International - demolished 1997

Karl-Marx-Stadt
  • Hotel Kongress - renamed Mercure Hotel Kongress Chemnitz 1992, renamed Dorint Kongresshotel Chemnitz 2018
  • Hotel Chemnitzer Hof - renamed Günnewig Hotel Chemnitzer Hof 1992, renamed Hotel Chemnitzer Hof 2017
  • Hotel Moskau - renamed Günnewig Hotel Europa 1992, later renamed Hotel an der Oper

Leipzig
  • Hotel Merkur - renamed InterContinental Leipzig 1993, renamed The Westin Leipzig 2003
  • Hotel Astoria - renamed Maritim Hotel Astoria 1992, closed 1996
  • Hotel Deutschland - renamed Hotel Am Ring 1972, renamed Hotel Deutschland 1990, renamed Hotel Mercure am Augustusplatz 1992, renamed Radisson SAS Hotel Leipzig 2007, renamed Radisson Blu Hotel Leipzig 2009
  • Hotel Stadt Leipzig - closed 1992 and demolished for construction of Hotel Novotel Leipzig City
  • Hotel International - closed 1993, reopened as Hotel Fürstenhof Kempinski Leipzig 1996, renamed Hotel Fürstenhof 2000
  • Hotel Zum Löwen - renamed Holiday Inn Garden Court Leipzig City Centre 1995, later renamed Best Western Hotel Leipzig City Center

Magdeburg
  • Hotel International - demolished 1993, Maritim Hotel Magdeburg opened on the site 1995[4]

Neubrandenburg
  • Hotel Vier Tore - renamed Radisson SAS Hotel Neubrandenburg, renamed Radisson Blu Hotel Neubrandenburg 2009, demolished 2016

Oberhof
  • Hotel Panorama - renamed Ramada Treff Hotel Panorama Oberhof, then Treff Hotel Panorama Oberhof

Potsdam

Rostock
  • Hotel Warnow - renamed Radisson SAS Hotel Rostock 1992, demolished 2001 for construction of a new Radisson SAS Hotel Rostock, renamed Radisson Blu Hotel Rostock 2009

Suhl
  • Hotel Thüringen-Tourist - renamed Hotel Thüringen Suhl, later renamed Michel Hotel Suhl

Weimar
  • Hotel Elephant
  • Hotel Belvedere - completed in 1992 as Hilton Weimar, renamed Leonardo Hotel Weimar 2007[5]
  • Interhotel DDR
  • Grand Hotel Berlin, 1987
  • Hotels Bastei, Königstein and Lilienstein, 1975
  • Hotel Merkur in Leipzig, 1981
  • Mercure Hotel Potsdam, 2014
  • Hotel Elephant in Weimar
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References
  1. https://www.das-neue-dresden.de/hotel-astoria.html
  2. http://www.ddr-wissen.de/wiki/ddr.pl?Hotel_Stadt_Halle,_Halle
  3. https://www.mz-web.de/halle-saale/ex-maritim-hotel-in-halle--haus-nicht-leer-stehen-lassen---25118096
  4. https://presse.maritim.de/pressreleases/magdeburgs-groesstes-hotel-feiert-jubilaeum-20-jahre-maritim-hotel-1632965
  5. https://weimar.thueringer-allgemeine.de/web/weimar/startseite/detail/-/specific/Leonardo-Hotel-schreibt-weiter-an-seiner-Erfolgsgeschichte-1072375075
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