Parsian Esteghlal International Hotel

The Parsian Esteghlal International Hotel is a hotel in Tehran, Iran. Opened in 1962 during the Pahlavi era, it was originally called the Royal Tehran Hilton. It was designed by the Iranian architect Heydar Ghiai.

WWW esteghlalhotel.ir

Overview

The hotel's design consultants also included noted British architect Raglan Squire, who also designed Hilton hotels in Tunis, Bahrain, Nicosia, and Jakarta.
The hotel originally consisted of a single tower containing 259 rooms. An additional tower, with 291 more rooms, was constructed in 1972. The hotel's famous guests during the Pahlavi era included Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, King Hussein of Jordan, and Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.
The hotel was renamed the Esteghlal Hotel following the Iranian revolution in 1979, when all foreign hotel management contracts were severed. Today, it is part of the state-run Parsian International Hotels Co. A third tower is currently under construction.

Building and Construction Facts

Unlike its more contemporary twin building, the original white concrete of the first tower was able to retain its colouration due to an innovation by its architect Heydar Ghiai who decided to include particles of crushed white marble into the concrete mix.