Hotel Cișmigiu
Designed in 1912 by Arghir Culina, this Eclectic landmark on Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta has served Bucharest as hotel, wartime infirmary, and student dormitory before returning to its original purpose in 2012.
At a glance
Hotel Cișmigiu — originally named Palace Hotel — is a declared Romanian historic monument (code B-II-m-B-19203) that combines Neoclassical and Art Nouveau ornament on a generous U-shaped plan facing the capital’s oldest public park. After a complete restoration completed in 2012, it reopened as a 4-star apart-hotel of 67 apartments, sharing its ground floor with the Humanitas bookshop and the Cervantes Institute. The building is notable as the only historic structure in Bucharest to incorporate underground parking within its restored envelope.
Key facts
- Built: 1912–1913 by Arghir Culina (structural engineer: Nicolae Nacu Pissiota)
- Style: Eclectic — Neoclassical and Art Nouveau
- Status: 4-star apart-hotel; cultural tenants on ground floor
- Address: Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta 38, Sector 5, Bucharest, Romania
- GPS: 44.4349, 26.0948 — Open in Google Maps
- Listed: Romanian Historic Monument B-II-m-B-19203
History
The building rose at the corner of Ion Brezoianu Street between 1912 and 1913, commissioned as the Palace Hotel — one of Bucharest’s grandest addresses at the time, with 200 rooms, en-suite bathrooms, and in-house telephone connections. The Pissiota family owned and ran it until the communist nationalisation of 1948, after which the new authorities renamed it Hotel Cișmigiu in honour of the park immediately opposite.
Its twentieth century was turbulent. During World War One the rooms were requisitioned as a centre for war-wounded (1916). From 1941 the ground floor hosted the Gambrinus Brewery, a fixture that remained until 1995. After nationalisation the building lost prestige steadily; by the 1990s it had been converted into student housing. The restoration programme, begun in 2004 under Spanish developer Hercesa and completed in 2009–2012, stripped decades of accretion and reintroduced the original Eclectic detailing.
The reopened hotel is privately managed and serves both leisure travellers and long-stay guests. The co-presence of Humanitas — Romania’s leading literary publisher and bookseller — and the Cervantes Institute gives the ground floor an intellectual vitality that mirrors the building’s pre-war cultural ambitions.
What you see
The façade along Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta reads as a confident Eclectic composition: rusticated stonework at street level gives way to pilastered upper storeys crowned by a restored cupola. Wrought-iron balcony railings and carved stone cartouches supply the Art Nouveau accent, while the rhythm of tall arched windows prevents the elevation from reading as merely academic. Stand back far enough to take in the corner treatment — the building’s slight angle towards the park is deliberate, offering the best sightline to the greenery beyond.
Inside, the renovation preserved the decorative plasterwork of the principal staircase and reinstated the original mosaic flooring in the entrance hall. The double-height atrium courtyard, a feature of the U-shaped plan, floods the inner apartments with light — a detail that would have been a selling point when the Palace Hotel first opened its doors in 1913.
Practical information
- Open to hotel guests and residents; Humanitas bookshop and Cervantes Institute open to all
- Best visited in spring or early autumn when Cișmigiu Gardens are in full colour
- Guided heritage tours: not a standard offering; cultural events occasionally held in the bookshop
- Estimated visit time: 30–60 minutes for the public areas and park surroundings
Getting there
Henri Coandă International Airport lies approximately 16 km north-west; the journey into the city centre takes around 30 minutes by taxi or the 783 express bus. The hotel stands on Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta within easy walking distance of Izvor metro station (M3 line, 5 minutes on foot). The University metro interchange and Piața Universității are roughly 10 minutes on foot eastward along the boulevard.
Nearby
- Cișmigiu Gardens — Bucharest’s oldest public park, directly opposite the hotel, laid out in the 1840s by Austrian landscape architect Wilhelm Friedrich Meyer.
- Calea Victoriei — The city’s historic main boulevard, a 10-minute walk east, lined with Neoclassical palaces, the CEC Palace, and the National History Museum.
- Romanian Athenaeum (Ateneul Român) — Bucharest’s concert hall landmark, approximately 15 minutes on foot north-east, set in a small park facing Revolution Square.
- Corinthia Grand Hotel du Boulevard — Another restored historic hotel on Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta, a short stroll away, originally built by Alexandru Orăscu in 1865–1871.
Sources
Find it on the map
See this place and what’s around it →📷 Diventa un fotografo di Cultural Heritage Online
Condividi le tue foto dei luoghi: restano pubblicate con la tua firma come autore. Più vengono viste, più ti fai conoscere — e presto un concorso premierà le foto più apprezzate.
Accedi o registrati gratis per aggiungere una foto