Hotel Evolution

A hotel is not just a place where a traveler can sleep and take a shower. Many hotels are comprehensive attractions, which leave no less vivid impressions than temples, museums, and monuments. That is why they have become full-fledged participants in our Travel column. Meanwhile, the history of the hotel business dates back to ancient times.

First records of places essentially resembling modern hotels traced back to the time of King Hammurabi of Babylon (first half of the 18th century B.C.). Hammurabi’s laws mentioned “shinkahs”, that is, taverns, or inns.

On an industrial scale, what can now be called the “hospitality industry” began to develop in ancient Persia and in ancient Rome. In Persia there were caravanserais, a kind of mobile hotel complexes for nomads, protected by the fortress wall. In Rome there were innkeepers at every turn. First public (to move into them a guest had to have a special permit), and then private, run by slaves or former gladiators.

In medieval Europe, tavern-owners often became “hoteliers”: they offered rooms in their establishments to travelers and merchants for overnight stays. True, they had serious competitors—trade guilds, which established their own offices in cities and countries so that their members had no trouble with downtime.

The first hotel (with that very name) opened in New York in 1794. The first hotel in the modern sense of the word (with reception, corridors, personal door locks) appeared in Boston in 1829.

Many hotels now offer the opportunity to make a vacation even more unforgettable than originally intended. Guests of Rocco Forte’s Hotel Amigo in Brussels, for example, can not only relax in the Belgian capital to their heart’s content, but also undergo unique spa treatments. The hotel has created a special relaxation program based on Irene Forte Skincare in collaboration with the iconic perfume retailer Beauty by Kroonen. This program based on organic and vegan cosmetics will turn into a real Mediterranean diet for your body and bring great benefits to your health.

Author: Igor Toporkov

Photo: Hotel Amigo