Within the next decade, nearly 300 hotels capable of housing 76 thousand people will be constructed in Moscow.

The prospects on the hotel market in Russia are looking good for foreign investors, as the country’s macroeconomic indicators are coming to pre-recession levels. 

American tycoon Ronald Lauder has recently issued a statement that he will launch a new hotel chain in Russia. Lauder’s plans include building 18 economy two- and three-star hotels in Moscow. The cost of the project has been estimated at USD 1 billion. Russia’s Hotel Company will be involved in the realization of the venture. Lauder will still retain the controlling stake in the project (51 percent). 

In July of 2010, the International Finance Corporation, which serves as the World Bank arm for private sector investment, said that it will assist in funding hotel development in the Russian regions. 

Specifically, the International Finance Corporation together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will be involved in financing the construction of hotels in Yaroslavl, Samara, Kaliningrad, and Krasnoyarsk. Hotel construction in these regions is undertaken by a Turkish company.   

The loans for constructing these 750-occupancy medium-class hotels will total EUR 45 million. Investment companies from Turkey, including Akfen REIT and Kasa Investments, have joined together in a new legal entity called Russian Hotel Investments organized specifically for the implementation of the project. 

Marketing research suggests that Russia does not have enough hotels to serve the needs of travelers. Within the next decade, nearly 300 hotels capable of housing 76 thousand people will be constructed in Moscow. In 2010 alone, 21 new hotels will be launched in the city. Presently, there are 247 hotels in Moscow with rooms for 80 thousand occupants. 

The Moscow government also pursues projects for modernizing existing hotels. The hotel on Tverskaya St., Tsentralnaya, is currently undergoing renovation. The Altai and Turist hotels built around 1950 are scheduled to be remodeled next.

Moscow Deputy Mayor said that the first block of the Rossiya Hotel in Moscow is set to open in 2012. According to Alexander Kuzmin, who serves as the Chief Architect for the City of Moscow, the hotel will have from 2 to 6 floors, as initially planned. Earlier plans to include a federal library in the hotel have been scrapped. Still, the hotel will feature a spacious Rossiya Concert Hall. The government of the city of Moscow decided to step in to finish the hotel project after it became apparent that the general contractor on the job was financially incapable of going through with the original plans.  

Short-term targets for the construction of the new Rossiya include the demolition of the old hotel and the building of a stylobate. The new hotel is expected to be ready in 2012.  

The destruction of the old Rossiya building was put on hold with the change in the management team of the investment company responsible for reconstructing the hotel. The contract made by the Moscow government and ST Development was held to be invalid in a legal proceeding. As a consequence, the city would have been liable for the expenses of demolishing the buildings.

Moscow officials have planned to build a new hotel where Rossiya stands since 2008. Demolition work on the existing building – constructed in 1967 as a symbol of the Soviet era – began in February 2006. The goal of the reconstruction plan was to build a series of hotel towers and apartments less than 6 stories in height with the total area of 410 thousand square meters. The project attracted much criticism from the general public, as well as the architectural specialists.   

The rebuilding project was first proposed by architect Norman Foster of Great Britain. In addition to rebuilding hotels, residential areas, and office centers, the construction team will also restore the Zaryadye district.

The project provides for renovating the corner towers of the Kitai Gorod Wall and the rebuilding of the St. Nicholas Temple demolished over 60 years ago.

Overlooking the Kremlin compound, Rossiya was a huge hotel commissioned by the government of the Soviet Union. Construction was begun on the foundation of an aborted skyscraper project (Zaryadye Administrative Building), which would have been the eighth of Stalin’s Seven Sisters. To make the construction of the hotel possible, large portions of the historic Zaryadye district in Moscow were destroyed in the 1940s. At the time, Rossiya was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most spacious hotel on the planet. The hotel remained the biggest hotel on the European continent until it closed its doors on January 1, 2006.

With 21 stories, Rossiya featured 3 200 rooms, 245 half-suites, a post office, a health club, a nightclub, a movie theater, and a barber shop. The hotel also included the Central State Concert Hall with space for 2 500 guests. The hotel could accommodate 4 000 residents.

The Moskva hotel is also expected to be launched in 2012. Construction crews expect to finish the parking lot in 2010. The shopping center is expected to be opened in 2011. Earlier, launch dates for Moskva were given as fall of 2009 and winter of 2010.

Following reconstruction, Moskva will be among the best hotels in Europe. While it had formerly held only a three-star rating, the new hotel will have all five stars. The old hotel building was demolished because of its deteriorating condition, and the new structure was put in place on the basis of the original architectural designs done by Alexei Shchusev in 1932. Changes done to the models of the Soviet architect include the construction of two additional atria. One atrium will be used for hotel rooms, just as was the case in the past. The other two will provide space for offices. The hotel will also have floors extending underground.  

Moskva wound up its operations in July of 2003. Demolition was completed in 2004, and reconstruction began in 2005.

The name Moskva has been used for two almost identical buildings in Moscow near the Red Square close to the old city hall building. The Moskva hotel, built from 1932 to 1938 and opened in 1935, was planned as the finest hotel in the city of Moscow. The hotel featured works of art and mosaics by the best artists of the U.S.S.R.