Hotel Tequendama

The Hotel Tequendama is a historic hotel located in central Bogotá, Colombia.

For other uses, see Tequendama (disambiguation).
Hotel Tequendama
Hotel Tequendama at night, aerial view
Location of Hotel Tequendama in Bogotá
EtymologyMuysccubun
General information
StatusIn use
AddressCarrera 10 #26-21
Town or cityBogotá
Country Colombia
Coordinates4°36′46″N 74°4′22″W
Elevation2,598 metres (8,524 ft)
Construction started1952
Completed1953
Inaugurated17 May 1953
OwnerSercotel
Height70 metres (230 ft)
DesignationsHotel
Other information
Number of rooms573
Website
Official website

History

The hotel is a national monument in the capital of Colombia. It was inaugurated as the Hotel Tequendama Intercontinental, part of the Intercontinental Hotels chain, with a banquet on May 17, 1953.[1] Between 1959 and 1962, a new wing was added that doubled the hotel's capacity.[2] In the hotel lobby, a mural depicting the deities of the Muisca religion, has been painted by Luis Alberto Acuña.[3]

The 5-star hotel forms part of the Centro Internacional Tequendama complex constructed between 1950 and 1982,[4] and is considered a national monument in Bogotá. Between 1947 and 1959, the architects Le Corbusier and Wiener-Sert participated in the design of the Tequendama central complex.[5] It hosts 537 rooms, a spa, convention centre and various other amenities. With 70 metres (230 ft), it is the seventy-fifth tallest building in Colombia and 33rd tallest in Bogotá.[6] During the 1980s, Pablo Escobar celebrated festivities in the hotel.[7]

In January 2007, after being an InterContinental for 53 years, the hotel was rebranded to InterContinental's business-class brand as the Crowne Plaza Tequendama Bogota.[8] In January 2016, the hotel left the InterContinental chain completely and began operating as an independent hotel.[9]

Etymology

Tequendama is a word derived from the Chibcha language of the Muisca, who inhabited the Bogotá savanna in the times before the Spanish conquest. It means "he who precipitates downward".[10]

  • View of the hotel
  • Hotel view with TransMilenio bus
  • Hotel Tequendama to the left, Avenida Calle 26 and Monserrate in the background
  • Mural of the Muisca deities in the lobby of the hotel

See also

References
  1. (in Spanish) El Hotel Tequendama de aniversario - El Tiempo
  2. (in Spanish) Ciudad y arquitectura moderna en Colombia - 1950-1970
  3. (in Spanish) Hotel Tequendama - Un mundo de fantasmas - El Tiempo
  4. Fontana & Mayorga, 2008, p.99
  5. Fontana & Mayorga, 2013, p.58
  6. (in Spanish) Edificios más altos de Colombia
  7. Murcia Piraquive, 2010, p.66
  8. https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4028798.html
  9. http://www.reportur.com/colombia/2016/01/26/tequendama-finalizan-contrato-con-ihg-que-operaba-con-crown-plaza/
  10. (in Spanish) Etymology Tequendama

"In Bogota" - Joan Didion, _The White Album_

Bibliography
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