Hotel Reina Cristina is an historic hotel in

Algeciras Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It was opened in 1901. It is representative of the British colonial architecture imported into the city in the early twentieth century from the nearby British Overseas Territory of

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History

The Hotel was built in the 1890s in response to the housing needs arising from the opening of the Algeciras-Bobadilla railway and opened in 1901. The original colonial English style building was funded by

Alexander Henderson, 1st Baron Faringdon Alexander Henderson, 1st Baron Faringdon (28 September 1850 – 17 March 1934), known as Sir Alexander Henderson, 1st Baronet, from 1902 to 1916, was a British financier and Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament. Biography Henderson was the ...

, via his company the Algeciras Gibraltar Railway Company. The original hotel (designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt) burned down in 1928 but it was rebuilt with one floor designed by architect Guillermo Thompson. It reopened in April 1932. The new building kept the overall structure of English colonial style and added elements typical of Andalusian architecture as befitted the eclectic movement of the time. The hotel is built around a central courtyard with landscape gardens. This building plays an important part of the history of Algeciras, especially during the Conference of Algeciras in 1906 and during World War II when spies would monitor the military movements in Gibraltar. It has also been visited by many famous people over the years, including Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles de Gaulle,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

and

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

References

Hotels in Algeciras Hotels established in 1901 Hotel Reina Cristina Spanish companies established in 1901 {{Cádiz-struct-stub