UN Campus Marriott celebrates grand opening
Bonn · It’s official, the Marriott World Conference Hotel on the UN Campus is open for business. Local politicians were on hand for the occasion and several thousand visitors came to check it out.
The 17-story Marriott World Conference Hotel celebrated its official grand opening on the weekend although it has been operating for four months now. Many guests were invited including Mayor Ashok Sridharan, former Mayor Jürgen Nimptsch and University of Bonn rector Michael Hoch. Entertainment was provided by the new variety theater “GOP” with excerpts from their current show “Plüfoli.”
Mayor Sridharan praised investor Jörg Haas for believing in Bonn and transforming what began as a problematic project into a successful one. The World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB) project had been tainted and slowed down by a financial scandal and ensuing court cases. Haas emphasized that every person living in Bonn has the possibility to do something to make it a better place to live, and that is why he became engaged in the project.
Hass bought the unfinished shell construction of the hotel for 17 million euro from the City of Bonn two years ago. He invested 64 million euro more into its completion. It has 336 double rooms and suites. Another 9 million euro was invested in the variety theater, “GOP” and 3.5 million euro was spent on the spa, “VisioLife Wellness and Fitness Area”, which is expected to be finished soon. Roman ruins were found during the construction of the spa, and integrated into the design.
About 5,000 people took advantage of the Open House on Sunday and visited the hotel and variety theater. Monday was also a day for visitors. The hotel not only holds a piece of Bonn’s Roman history but also includes it’s more recent history as capital of Germany. Pictures of prominent politicians from that time period hang in the hallways, and the restaurant “Konrads” on the 17th floor is named in memory of Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of Germany after World War Two.
Original text: Lisa Inhoffen, translated by Carol Kloeppel
