The Hotel Casino Carrasco is a historic

five star hotel Hotel ratings are often used to classify hotels according to their quality. From the initial purpose of informing travellers on basic facilities that can be expected, the objectives of hotel rating have expanded into a focus on the hotel experie ...

and casino in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. It currently operates as the Hotel Sofitel Montevideo Casino Carrasco and Spa.

History

The idea for the building began with the formation of a corporation called "Balneario Carrasco", created by Alfredo Arocena with the aim of building a hotel in the then seaside resort of Carrasco. This company was in charge of summoning the landscaper

Carlos Thays Carlos Thays (August 20, 1849 – January 31, 1934)Biog ...

, to design and convert the entire area into a wonderful garden neighborhood, and then begin the construction of the ''Hotel Carrasco'', named in honor of the first owner of the lands, Sebastián Carrasco. The construction of the hotel began in 1912, under the leadership and projection of the architects Gastón Mallet and the Swiss Jacques Dunant. The outbreak of the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

forced the suspension of construction works for nine years. Later, the Municipality of Montevideo bought the land and the monumental unfinished building, to continue the works and finally inaugurate them, on January 29, 1921. It soon became a landmark of luxury for tourists visiting the city, and many lodged many famous personalities, such as

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

(1925) and

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

(1934).

In 1975 it was declared a National Historical Heritage. In 1997 it closed its doors. Renovation work began in 2009 by the company Carrasco Nobile Sociedad Anónima, and culminated in 2013. Currently the hotel is managed by

Sofitel Sofitel Hotels & Resorts are a French hotel chain of luxury hotels based in Paris, France, and owned by Accor since 1980. Founded in 1964 in France, Sofitel quickly developed worldwide to reach more than 200 properties. In 2008, Sofitel became a ...

. It formally reopened its doors on March 7, 2013. According to ''

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

'', the opening of this building brings with it a whole revolution in the neighbourhood of Carrasco, with many real estate and business investments. In addition, Rostand Street and the adjoining square became one of the most popular pedestrian zones in the city.

Overview

Located on the

Rambla of Montevideo The Rambla of Montevideo is an avenue (landscape), avenue that goes all along the coastline of Montevideo, Uruguay. At a length of over 22.2 uninterrupted kilometres (13.7 mi), the promenade runs along the Río de la Plata and continues down ...

, the hotel stands as the center of the urban plan designed for the ''

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

'' Carrasco, in the first decades of the 20th century, by the French landscape architects Charles Thays and Edouard André. Its architectural style is eclectic-historicist with a predominance of neoclassical and baroque and inspired by European ''palace'' hotels. It currently has 116 rooms (including 22 Suites), Thays Lounge Bar, 1921 Restaurant, spa and various spaces for events. In the basement there is a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

References

External links

Sofitel Montevideo Casino Carrasco and Spa

Hotel Carrasco - project

Casino Carrasco
Sofitel Hotels in Montevideo Hotels established in 1921

Hotel Carrasco The Hotel Casino Carrasco is a historic five star hotel and casino in Montevideo, Uruguay. It currently operates as the Hotel Sofitel Montevideo Casino Carrasco and Spa. History The idea for the building began with the formation of a corporatio ...

Hotel buildings completed in 1921

Casinos in Uruguay Casino hotels {{Uruguay-struct-stub