Hotel Ukraine

World's tallest hotel when completed, surpassed by Westin Peachtree Plaza.

Tallest hotel in Europe, including the 75 meter architectural spire on the top.

In 1974 a monument to Taras Shchevchenko, one of the greatest Ukrainan authors, was built on the square in front of the hotel.

There are 1,627 beds in the hotel.

A plafond portraying a people's festival in the Ukraine decorates the center of the vast entrance lobby.

The hotel has a very unique fire system outside the building of a purely Russian invention. A maximum of ten people can use a Kapron chute to slide down at the same time. (Kapron is a material similar to nylon).

The building was portrayed on an old 1 Ruble stamp from 1950.

Situated across the Moskva River on the bank opposite Government of Russia Building.

Featured in the 1990 film "The Russia House" - an adaptation of John Le Carré's spy thriller of the Glasnost era starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Dirt, grime and soot of some 40 years have eaten into the facade of the building. On the 850th anniversary of the Russian Capital, celebrated in 1997, it was decided to give the hotel a facelift and to polish the gray stone to its original colour.

The side arms of the hotel, 8 to 10 storeys high, were designed for living accommodation and contain 254 rooms.

During the 1993 October siege of Government of Russia Building, the front-facing rooms were evacuated as many stray bullets were flying around.

It is said that on a clear day one can see all the way to the outskirts of Moscow from the observation deck.

Around the turret and the top of the side arms are large sculptures of vases with ears of wheat. They are a symbol for the agricultural fertility of the Ukraine, formerly known as the "bread basket" of the Soviet Union.

An observation deck at the top opened in 2004.