Croatia - International Special Reports

Esplanade hotel captures history and spirit of Zagreb

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Esplanade hotel captures history and spirit of Zagreb

On the first page of his 1993 best selling book Balkan Ghosts esteemed author and lecturer Robert Kaplan writes: The capital of the former Yugoslav Republic of Croatia is the last railway city in Europe where a traveler is absolutely expected to arrive by train, since the Esplanade, built in 1925 and still considered among the world’s best hotels, is just across the street from the station.

The Hotel Esplanade owes much of its mystique to its proximity to Glavni Kolodvor, the Capital train station, which, back when the hotel was built, was a major stop on the Orient Express. The hotel was erected upon a flat stretch of ground that contained a skating rink, hence its name– Esplanade, meaning plateau in Spanish. Upon completion it was hailed as "the triumph of home architecture and craft".

The Esplanade has always been at the center of social life in Zagreb. More than just a hotel, it is part of the tradition and spirit of the city- its philosophy and lifestyle. "It was a window to the West and to the world," said the Esplanade’s General Manager, Ms. Amelia Tomasevic.

When the hotel opened seventy six years ago it had as its very first registered guest a Mr.Gluck from the city of Osijek in eastern Croatia. Gluck, in Croatian, means the same as the English word "luck," so it appeared that the hotel was off to a positive start.

During the 1960s the Hotel Esplanade had its "golden period" during which many famous movie stars, such as Yul Brenner, Orson Welles (who has a suite in the Esplanade named after him), Anthony Quinn, Stewart Granger, and Woody Allen, stayed at the hotel while in Zagreb to shoot motion pictures.

Although the hotel got off to an auspicious beginning, things were not always so easy in Zagreb. One would never know it today, but "As late as ten years ago if the hotel wanted to offer quail, kiwi, or ginger to its guests we had to go all the way to Austria or Italy to obtain it," says Ms. Tomasevic. Sometimes the Esplanade was forced to smuggle food from abroad. "It will make you laugh today, but we had to smuggle in such things as smoked salmon."

"The hotel was taught to have heart and soul," says the General Manager. In 1926 a young man from a poor family who would later become the most famous poet in Croatia had all of his earthly possessions stolen from him. Without his belongings and lacking income, he wrote to the Hotel Esplanade asking for help. The hotel manager decided to supply the young man with food for one year. After the end of that year he began receiving full meals for another year.

Today the hotel continues to support twenty children orphaned from the war. "The Esplanade is more than just a hotel," says Tomasevic, "we are willing to invest in the community not just in our own promotion.

In 1964 the Hotel Esplanade made history by becoming the first socialist hotel to enter into an agreement with a Western hotel firm, Intercontinental. "This proved that the marriage between capitalism and socialism was profitable," said Ms. Tomasevic. "It doesn’t sound like a very important thing but it was, because it brought in the American standards to the hotel business in Croatia."

"This hotel has introduced the first cakes, the first champagne in glasses, the first chocolate with coffee, many many things we have introduced first. We introduced the bistro to Croatia. We even have a small school where we teach people how to cook. In the last six years we have had one hundred people coming from the coast to stay with us and learn about providing first class service and gastronomy."

The Esplanade also boasts the only sommelier in Zagreb hotels, an important consideration owing to the first-rate wine cellar that the hotel maintains. In addition to having a fine stock of delicious Croatian wines the hotel carries wines from around the world.

Over the years hundreds of famous names have been entered into the hotel guestbook, Charles Lindbergh, Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong, Lawrence Olivier and Vivian Leigh, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, and the members of the Rolling Stones.

The walls encircling the Esplanade’s grand banquet room are lined with the faded photographs of political leaders and personalities from film, stage, and music who have lodged at the hotel. Even those of contemporary fame have their photographs displayed in the monochromatic tones of yesteryear.

A part of the reason that they keep coming back to the Esplanade is their desire to capture the tradition and spirit of Zagreb. Another reason is that they wish to experience the hotel’s impeccable hospitality, just as thousands of others have since the days of the Orient Express.