Radisson Blu Daugava Hotel

Radisson Blu Daugava Hotel

Location within Riga
General information
Location	Riga, Latvia
Address	24, Kuģu Street; Riga, LV-1048
Coordinates	56°56′38.17″N 24°5′39.25″E / 56.9439361°N 24.0942361°E / 56.9439361; 24.0942361Coordinates: 56°56′38.17″N 24°5′39.25″E / 56.9439361°N 24.0942361°E / 56.9439361; 24.0942361
Opening	July 1995^[1]
Owner	Radisson Hotels
Technical details
Floor count	9
Other information
Number of rooms	365
Number of restaurants	2
Parking	Parking for up to up to 100 private vehicles and 5 buses
Website
radissonblu.com/hotel-riga

Radisson Blu Daugava Hotel is a 4+ star hotel in Riga, Latvia,^[1] and was the first hotel in the Baltic states to be managed by an international hotel brand after Latvia regained independence in 1991.^[2]

Located on the Daugava River in the Old City district of Riga, this hotel is just a short walk away from embassies and businesses and only 15 minutes from the airport. Guests enjoy easy access to cultural attractions such as the Town Hall, Riga Dome Cathedral, Art Museum “Riga Bourse” and Presidential Castle. The 356 rooms and suites include amenities like the Super Breakfast Buffet and Free high-speed, wireless Internet. Enjoy beautiful Daugava River views and delicious international cuisine at Panorama Restaurant, or host memorable private events in Talavera Restaurant. Guests appreciate complimentary access to the fitness center, 24-meter indoor pool and sauna, and can indulge in relaxing treatments at the SPA Salon Aleksandra. Boasting 10 well-equipped meeting rooms, this hotel can host Riga events of up to 400 attendees.^[3]

History^[4]

1 July 1995 - Soft Opening of the hotel.^[5]
1 October 1995 - Official Opening of the hotel with 361 guest-room, 10 conference rooms and Food & Beverage facilities available. The first General Manager of the hotel was Kurt Ritter.
9 March 1996 – Grand Opening party.
July 1996 – opening of Regency Palace Casino.
2 September 1996 – introduction of airline check-in service for SAS and AirBaltic flights.
March 1997 – Radisson President’s Award winner.
1 January 1997 – Business Class concept introduced.
June 1998 – air cooling for 200 rooms installed.
September – becomes the pilot hotel of “Reserved for You” program.
1 October 1998 – introduction of 100% Guest Satisfaction Guarantee across the chain.^[6]
1998 – Radisson President’s Award winner.
19 January 2000 – launch of a new Rezidor logo and company name, “Hotels Worldwide” being replaced with “Hotels & Resorts”.
February 2000 – the name “Radisson SAS Daugava Hotel Riga” is shortened and changed to “Radisson SAS Daugava Hotel”.
9 March 2001 – opening of Baltic Meeting & Training Center – 3 additional conference rooms.
9 March 2001 – official opening of restaurant “Talavera”, which replaces “Grill Room”.^[7]
1 November 2001 – opening of “Vienna Café”.
2002 / 2003 – implementation of an air conditioning system and water supply upgrade in 203 rooms.
September 2002 – leasing contract signed with ‘’Olympic Casinos”.^[8]
April 2003 – opening of the Las Vegas style casino and the Night Club.
2004 / 2005 – air conditioning system implemented in all guest-rooms.
April 2005 – hotel received Latvian HR Management annual award “Employer of the Year 2004”.
2006 – launch of a new Rezidor logo and company name, “Hotels & Resorts” being replaced with “The Rezidor Hotel Group”.
2007 - Latvia’s Leading Business Hotel award.^[9]
October 2009 – change of logo: Radisson SAS has changed to Radisson Blu.^[10]
February 2010 – “Radisson Blu Daugava Hotel” has been awarded the international environmental eco-certification Green Key.^[11]
2014 – Radisson Blu Daugava Hotel receives hotel.info top rated hotel award and booking.com award of excellence.
February 2016 – the hotel has been awarded the internationally recognized Safehotels security certificate.^[12]

Location

Nestled on the bank of the Daugava River, the hotel presides over Riga’s charming Old City district and offers proximity to a variety of key business sites – Exhibition Center Kipsala and National Library of Latvia.

In addition to Radisson Blu Daugava Hotel’s location just 15 minutes (12 km) from Riga International Airport just two kilometers from the railway and central bus stations, it is also close to premier retail outlets and entertainment options, such as, Zelta Bowling Center (800 m), shopping centers - Olimpia, Riga Plaza, Gallery Centre (3 km), Arena Riga (6 km) and Latvian National Opera (1.9 km).

The hotel is well suited for sightseeing adventures in Latvia. Such timeless attractions as Dome Cathedral, Blackheads House and the Freedom Monument are all located in the walking distance from the hotel.

Transportation

The closest public transportation stop is Nacionala Biblioteka (Uzvaras bulvaris), which serves tram lines 2, 4, 5 and 10; trolleybus line 9; bus lines 3, 4, 4z, 7, 8, 21, 22, 25, 32, 35, 38, 39, 43, 54, 55; minibus lines 222, 238, 242, 244, 246, 263, 270 and 271; night bus lines N3 and N8.It is only a 4-minute walk away from the hotel.^[13]

Railway Station and Central Bus Station – 2 km

Take public bus till the Nacionala Biblioteka or taxi (approximate charge of EUR 7).

Riga International Airport – 12 km

From the airport, take Jurmala Highway into K. Ulmana Gatve. Exit before the river, go around the circle and take the third right on Mukusalas Street. Go under the bridge, and the hotel will be on the left. For public transfer from the airport, take public bus 22 (bus stop Lidosta Riga). It'll take 25 minutes to get to the hotel (bus stop Nacionala Biblioteka).

Vilnius, Lithuania – 300 km

From Vilnius, take the A2 highway to Panevezis. From Panevezis, take the A10 highway to Bauska/Riga. When in Bauska, take the A7 highway to Riga. Follow the Riga signs; the road leads to Bauska Street and then to a roundabout. At the circle, take the second right to Mukusalas Street and drive straight along the river. Go under the bridge, and the hotel will be on the left.

Tallinn, Estonia – 307 km

From Tallinn, take the highway to Parnu. From Parnu, take the highway to Riga. The road will lead to Brivibas Street in Riga. Continue straight until reaching the Freedom Monument at the end of the road. Turn left (to Raina Boulevard) and proceed straight for two blocks until Station Square (a big station clock serves as a landmark). Turn right to 13 Janvara Street and go straight. This street leads to Akmens Bridge. Cross the bridge, and the hotel will be on the right.

Events

Radisson Blu Daugava with its vast Conference Center, which consists of 10 conference rooms of various size and type, has held countless events of local and international significance.

The European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI) symposium (June 2010) – annual symposium on the issue of the mobility of health workers in the European Union was represented by 24 CESI affiliates and 16 EU countries. The primary goal of the symposium was to find some new ways to strike a better balance between respect for the workforce in the healthcare sector and consideration for patient needs.^[14]
The international training workshop on capacity building in environment and health by World Health Organization (March 2012). A total of 70 representatives of the environment and the health sector from the eight Member States participated in the training. Participants were provided with new insights on environmental health through key lectures on hot topics and in-depth training on health in environmental impact assessment, health in strategic environmental assessment or quantitative methods.^[15]
Balttour Forum (2012; 2013; 2015) is an introductory event of the Baltics’s major travel trade fair Balttour. Balttour Forum is a unique event in the Baltics tourism industry. Opening the travel season, it has great potential for tourism professionals to exchange experience and knowledge, to develop existing and establish new and productive business contacts and conclude deals.^[16]
Federation Internationale Feline (FIFe) – a leading international cat fancier society – general assembly (May 2014).
European Sulphuric Acid Association general assembly (June 2014) - comprising all the members, is the supreme body of ESA.
INNOWEEK 2015 (June 2015) – brought together high level policy-makers, financial intermediaries and representatives of the research, innovation and business communities. The primary goal of the conference was to discuss the European Union’s investment policies and its support for business development and innovation to further improve the standard of living in Europe.^[17]
International Association of Auto Theft (IAATI) seminar (October 2015). The purpose of the seminar was to keep the participants up-to-date on the latest developments in the field of international vehicle crime and to discuss the most effective ways of combating this type of criminal activity.^[18]

Prominent Guests

Presidents and Country Leaders

Armenia: Serzh Sargsyan – 2011
Austria: Heinz Fischer - 2014
Azerbaijan: Ilham Aliyev – 2006, 2011
China: Jiang Zemin - 2002
Croatia: Ivo Josipovic – 2012; Stjepan Mesic - 2003
Czech Republic: Vaclav Havel; Vaclav Klaus - 2010;
Estonia: Lennart Meri – 1998, 1999; Toomas Hendrik Ilves – 2012
Georgia: Mikheil Saakashvili – 2012
Germany: Joachim Gauck – 2013; Angela Merkel - 2015
Great Britain: Queen Elizabeth II – 2006; Prince Charles – 2011
Finland: Tarja Halonen – 2010; Sauli Niinisto – 2013; Martti Ahtisaari
Hungary: Laszlo Solyom – 2007; Arpad Goncz
Iceland: Olafur Ragnar Grimsson – 1998
Israel: Shimon Peres – 2013
Japan: The Emperor Akihito & The Empress Mochiko – 2007
Kazakhstan: Nursultan Nazarbayev – 2006
Latvia: Guntis Ulmanis - 1996, 1997, 1997; Vaira Vike-Freiberga – 2000
Lithuania: Valdas Adamkus – 1998, 1999, 2002; Dalia Grybauskaite – 2012
Macedonia: Gjorge Ivanov - 2012
Moldova: Vladimir Voronin - 2005
Mongolia: Natsagiin Bagabandi – 2003
Poland: Aleksander Kwasniewski – 1998, 1999; Bronislaw Komorowski – 2012, 2015
Slovenia: Milan Kučan - 2000; Danilo Turk – 2010
Spain: King Juan Carlos I & Queen Sophia of Spain – 2009
Sweden: King Carl XVI Gustaf & Queen Silvia - 2014
Switzerland: Micheline Calmy-Rey – 2007; Didier Burkhalter – 2014
Tajikistan: Emomali Rahmon – 2009
Turkey: Suleiman Demirel; Ahmet Necdet Sezer – 2002; Egemen Bagis – 2010; Recep Tayyip Erdogan – 2014
Ukraine: Viktor Yushchenko - 2006; Viktor Yanukovich – 2010
United States of America: George W. Bush – 2006
Uzbekistan: Islam Karimov – 2013

Celebrities

Culture

Thomas Kinkade (1958 – 2012), the famous American painter, in his painting “Sunset Over Riga” perpetuated the breathtaking view of symbolic Riga’s silhouette that can be seen from the Radisson Blu Daugava Hotel. The painter describes his masterpiece as following: "For my painting, I attempted to capture the elusive light of dusk. When you paint as the sun is setting, God sets the timetable. Riga is one of the grand old cities of Europe, considered to be the romantic heart of the Baltic. We are fortunate to live in an era when this historic treasure with its picturesque medieval districts, can once again be celebrated by all."^[19]

In August 2015, the hotel became a film shooting area for the Latvian / Japanese movie “Magic Kimono” with well-known Japanese actors Kaori Momoi and Issey Ogata. “Magic Kimono” is a modern-day fairytale of a Japanese woman’s re-discovery of her heart and long lost self via tragicomic encounters through the art of kimono and the meeting of Japanese and European food culture.

Awards

March 1997 – Radisson President’s Award winner
1998 – Radisson President’s Award winner
April 2005 –Latvian HR Management annual award “Employer of the Year 2004”
2007 - Latvia’s Leading Business Hotel award
2014/15 – hotel.info top rated hotel award
2014 – booking.com award of excellence
2016 - Safehotels security certificate

References

1 2 "Riga Hotels. Radisson SAS Daugava Hotel". riga-hotels.net. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
↑ "Radisson: Hotel with a view". bestriga.com. 2009-03-12. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
↑ "Radisson Blu Daugava Hotel in Riga Old City District". www.radissonblu.com. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "Radisson SAS Daugava Hotel Riga". www.cosmopolis.ch. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "SAS Annual Report 1995" (PDF).
↑ "The Rezidor Hotel Group - Yes I Can!". rezidor.com. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "Restaurant Talavera". www.cosmopolis.ch. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "Company". www.olympic-casino.lv. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "The Rezidor Hotel Group's Awards & Achievements 2010" (PDF).
↑ "Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group | History". carlsonrezidor.com. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "The Rezidor Hotel Group's Responsible Business related Certifications and Awards" (PDF).
↑ "Congratulations - All Radisson Blu Hotels in Riga achieve Safehotels Certification! - Safehotels". Safehotels. 2016-02-25. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ www.cubesystems.lv, Cube Systems /. "Rīgas satiksme". www.rigassatiksme.lv. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "CESI EUROPE ACADEMY - RIGA 16/18 JUNE 2010". www.cesi.org. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "Report of the international training workshop on CBEH" (PDF).
↑ "Balttour 2016". www.balttour.lv. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "Innoweek 2015, 15-17 June 2015, Riga". European Crowdfunding Network. 2015-04-05. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "IAATI Seminar Riga, Latvia 21.October". spotidoc.com. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "Sunset over Riga | The Thomas Kinkade Company". ThomasKinkade.com. 2014-08-14. Retrieved 2016-04-29.

External links

Official site

Riga cityscape

Old Town	Castle Cat House Convent Yard Dannenstern House House of the Blackheads House of the Livonian Noble Corporation Large Guild Powder Tower Small Guild Swedish Gate Three Brothers

Hotels	Grand Palace Radisson Blu Daugava Gallery Park

Monuments & memorials	Brothers' Cemetery Bikernieki Memorial Freedom Monument Great Cemetery Pokrov Cemetery Victory Memorial to Soviet Army

Parks & gardens	Vērmanes Garden

Museums & galleries	Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation National Museum of Art Museum of the Occupation of Latvia Latvian Ethnographic Open Air Museum War Museum Museum of Foreign Art Museum of National History

Theatres	Latvian National Opera Latvian National Theatre Palladium Riga New Riga Theatre

Places of worship	Nativity Cathedral Cathedral St. Peter's Church St. James's Cathedral

Bridges	Island Bridge Railway Bridge Southern Bridge Stone Bridge Vanšu Bridge

Structures	Radio and TV Tower

Other	National Library of Latvia Central Market Latvian Academy of Sciences Zoo

Waterways	Daugava River

Streets	Albert Street

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