Dom Hotel in 1800

__________________

The history of the Dom Hotel dates back to 1855. Aristocrats, diplomats and celebrities chose and still choose to this day the hotel as their favourite accommodation. Be inspired by the hotel’s charm, a combination of tradition and contemporary style that makes this hotel one of the most characteristic Boutique-Hotels. Discover the hotel’s 150-year-old tradition combining modern facilities and a personal and attentive service.

HISTORY IN DETAIL:

The history of the hotel dates back to 1855, when the family of Ignatz Theodor Metz moved from Strasbourg to Cologne and purchased the square facing the Cathedral. In order to finance the enormous cost, they charged an "entrance fee" to the people of Cologne wanting to walk into the Cathedral Square, known today as Roncalli Square. In 1857, the first “Hotel du Dome” was opened by Ignaz Metz from Strasbourg. However, the architect had made a mistake in the static calculations. As a result, the ceiling of the grand ballroom collapsed on opening day. Luckily, no event was taking place there at the time. The Metz family built another hotel on the same spot, which had to be demolished soon after completion, however, following the request from the Cathedral Society, as the city of Cologne wanted a larger, more impressive square in front of the Cathedral, which was finished in 1885. The third DOM HOTEL was then built at its present location and opened in 1893. Under the German Empire, it became a traditional accommodation for dukes, diplomats and leading figures of the arts, the industry and the trade. It was the preferred residence of statesmen, actors and artists. During the Second World War, in 1945, the hotel was almost entirely destroyed; only three rooms suffered no damage. Soon after, the hotel was rebuilt in different phases. Since 1994, the Dom Hotel is marketed under the Le Méridien brand. The Le Méridien brand was established in 1972 by Air France "to provide a home away from home for its customers." The first Le Méridien property was a 1,000-room hotel in Paris — Le Méridien Etoile. Within two years of operation the group had 10 hotels in Europe and Africa. Within the first six years the number of hotels rose to 21 based in Europe, Africa, the French West Indies, Canada, South America, the Middle East and Mauritius. By 1991, the total number of Le Méridien properties had reached 58. In late 1994, Le Méridien was acquired by the UK hotel giant, Forte Group, which in turn was acquired by Granada Group plc in 1996. Through a merger in the summer of 2000 between Forte's parent company, Granada Group plc, and the global contract catering giant, Compass Group plc — and the subsequent demerger of the two companies in February 2001 — the ownership of the Forte Hotels division and its three brands (Le Méridien, Heritage Hotels and Posthouse Forte) passed solely to Compass Group. In May 2001, Nomura International plc announced the acquisition of Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts from Compass Group plc for £1.9 billion and Le Méridien was merged with Principal Hotels, which was acquired in February 2001. In December 2003, Lehman Brothers Holdings acquired the senior debt of Le Méridien. During all this time the building of the Dom Hotel itself still belonged to the heirs of the founder. In 2001, Udo J. Lammerting purchased the Dom Hotel property. Since then the building has been owned by the Lammerting Immobilien Gruppe. On November 24, 2005, the Le Méridien brand and management fee business were acquired by Starwood Hotels & Resorts. The leased and owned real estate assets were acquired in a separate deal by a joint venture formed by Lehman Brothers and Starwood Capital. The Dom Hotel in Cologne has been refurbished from April 2002 to October 2003. Each of its 124 guest rooms and suites has been decorated with warm, bright and modern colours. Plasma flat screens and high-speed internet access are standard as well as the finishing of the bathrooms in black Italian marble and Persian travertine. The hotel also added 6 new conference rooms on the mezzanine floor. Warm colours and a cosy atmosphere add additional value to the existing facilities, offering all you can expect from a modern conference room. Another new highlight is the Sir Peter Ustinov´s Bar International with a wide range of cocktails from all over the world. It is named after the famous actor who was a regular guest at the Dom Hotel during his visits in Cologne. The Atelier restaurant has been renamed “Le Merou” and re-designed with the help of Michel Rostang, a famous 2-star Michelin chef from Paris. Michel Rostang’s team has trained the Dom Hotel team, and the executive chef Grischa Jankowiak has mastered the realization of the new concept.

Armstrong Louis Beckenbauer Franz Belmondo Jean-Paul Berben Iris Berghoff Dagmar Berry Walter Birkin Jane Bisset Jaqueline Blair Tony Boettcher Grit Böhm Karlheinz Brandauer Klaus-Maria Brice Pierre Brühl Heidi Bruni Carla Bumbry Grace Caballe Montserrat Carreras José Chaplin Geraldine Charell Marlène Clement Wolfgang Domingo Placido Dunaway Faye Duse Eleonore Eco Umberto Elsner Hannelore Fältskog Agnetha Fedderer Helga Ferch Heino Ferres Veronica Fischer Helmut Fitzgerald Ella Fröbe Gert Froboess Cornelia Gedda Nicolai Glas Uschi Goodman Benny Gottschalk Thomas Hackl Georg Hall Jerry Hamilton David Hari Mata Heesters Johannes Hendrix Jimmy Hill Terence Jürgens Curd Jürgens Udo Kaiser Wilhelm II Keating Ronan Kishon Epharim Klitschko Vladimir Knef Hildegard Kondrashin Kirill Krebs Diether Krüger Hardy Kubitschek Ruth Maria Kuhn Paul Lauterwasser Lazar Berman Leander Zarah Legend John Lingen Theo Lloyd Christopher Loren Sophia Mathieu Mireille Meysel Inge Milstein Nathan Mueller-Stahl Armin Norrington Sir Roger Offenbach Jacques Ortiz Cristina Padberg Eva Palmer Lilli Pelé Peterson Oscar Plissezkaja Maija Pulver Liselotte Rau Johannes Rehhagel Otto Riemann Katja Roos Mary Sachs Gunther Sarasate de Pablo Savalas Telly Scalfaro Dr. Oskar Luigi Schell Maria Schwarzkopf Elisabeth Simmel Johannes M. Sir Peter Ustinov Solana Madariaga Javier Stewart Thomas Stich Michael Stoiber Edmund Taylor Daniel Thurn und Taxis von Gloria Thurn und Taxis von Johannes Trump Ivana Vogel Dr. Hans Joachim Von Habsburg Otto Von Karajan Herbert Walser Martin Wussow Klaus Jürgen Zadora Pia to name but a few…

Dom Hotel in 1900

NAIL VARNISH ON THE CARPET AND A DRESS IN WHEEL SPOKES – SOPHIA LOREN In 1968, when the Italian screen goddess Sophia Loren was at the peak of her career and had already received an Oscar for her film “Two Women” a small mishap befell her in her two room suite of the Dom Hotel. She spilled some nail varnish on the thick beige carpet of the hotel room. Nail varnish can be quite stubborn when it comes to removing it, which is why the hotel owners had no choice but to charge the famous actress for a new carpet – some 2,500 German Marks. But before long the hotel, too, was faced with a bill. When page Uli was asked to take one of the Italian star's obscenely expensive dresses to the dry-cleaner's, the designer gown got tangled up in the spokes of his bicycle. So things evened out: the hotel settled the invoice immediately.
MATA HARI – ESPIONAGE RENDEZVOUS IN ROOM 206 Legend has it that prior to World War I the Dom Hotel was home to a meeting that was to change the course of history. The fascinating Dutch dancer and double agent was allegedly supposed to infiltrate the French as a German spy. But in the Dom Hotel a French Lieutenant enlisted her as a double agent. The French succeeded in hiring Mata Hari who fell in love with the French Lieutenant. She was supposed to spy on the French defensive plans for Verdun – a task Hindenburg had set her in person. Instead, however, she told her lover of this, knowing very well that he would report it to his superiors. Clemenceau himself handed the Lieutenant false defence plans, which Mata Hari passed on to the Germans. The double agent then delivered real German attack plans against Verdun to the French. This led to a stalemate because the French were able to prevent the German gambit and hold on to Verdun. Thus, legend has it, the outcome of World War I was decided in the Dom Hotel.
TONY BLAIR The German chancellor Gerhard Schröder hosted the G7 summit in June 1998 in Cologne. The British government had taken up quarters in the Dom Hotel. The state banquet was held opposite the Dom Hotel in the Roman-Germanic Museum and was served on the Dionysus mosaic. Because mpbpdy is allowed to wear shoes on the precious mosaic, Prime Minister Blair walked across the Roncalliplatz in socks!