Palácio Quitandinha
Encyclopedia
The Palácio Quitandinha is a monumental luxurious hotel in Petrópolis
, State of Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil
. It is probably the second most famous hotel of the country, after the Copacabana Palace
Hotel in the city of Rio de Janeiro
which is only about 65 km from Petrópolis.
Constructed in 1944 by the Brazilian entrepreneur Joaquim Rolla, the Palácio Quitandinha is one of the most impressive architectural monuments in Petrópolis. It was built in the Norman-French style (outside) and the Rococo style (inside), as the former is very much present in the architecture of Petrópolis due to West European colonization. The surface area of the hotel is 50 thousand square meters and has six floors, and the ground floor is 10 meters high. It has 440 rooms plus 13 suites. When it was opened, the Palácio Quitandinha, was as the "Cassino Hotel Quitandinha", the largest hotel casino in Latin America for a mere two years, during the period when gambling was permitted in Brazil, from 1930 until May 30, 1946, when the federal government under President Eurico Gaspar Dutra
had outlawed all types of gambling from casinos to games of chance in Brazil, by his Presidential decree.
This caused a severe financial crisis for the hotel and being unable to survive solely as a hotel, its apartments were gradually sold out. The hotel was reinvented as "convention center
hotel
" in 1989 and is used for many important conferences to his day. The imposing façade and the scenic surrounding of the hotel makes it an important tourist attraction itself. The Palácio Quitandinha is unique, that it is simultaneously a hotel, a convention center, and a museum.
Many famous guests who stayed at the include stars like Errol Flynn
, Orson Welles
, Lana Turner
, Henry Fonda
, Maurice Chevalier
, Greta Garbo
, Carmen Miranda
, Walt Disney
, Bing Crosby
, politicians like Eva Perón
and President Getúlio Vargas
of Brazil and a dethroned King Carol II of Romania
.
The scenic artificial lake in front of the hotel, is in the shape of Brazil, and was built as the only viable support in the event of an unexpected fire.
Petrópolis
Petrópolis , also known as The Imperial City of Brazil, is a town in the state of Rio de Janeiro, about 65 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro....
, State of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro (state)
Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It is probably the second most famous hotel of the country, after the Copacabana Palace
Copacabana Palace
The Copacabana Palace Hotel is the most famous and luxurious hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It's considered South America's premier hotel, having received the rich and famous for the past 80 years. It faces the Copacabana Beach. It consists of an 8-storey main building and a 14-story annex. The...
Hotel in the city of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
which is only about 65 km from Petrópolis.
Constructed in 1944 by the Brazilian entrepreneur Joaquim Rolla, the Palácio Quitandinha is one of the most impressive architectural monuments in Petrópolis. It was built in the Norman-French style (outside) and the Rococo style (inside), as the former is very much present in the architecture of Petrópolis due to West European colonization. The surface area of the hotel is 50 thousand square meters and has six floors, and the ground floor is 10 meters high. It has 440 rooms plus 13 suites. When it was opened, the Palácio Quitandinha, was as the "Cassino Hotel Quitandinha", the largest hotel casino in Latin America for a mere two years, during the period when gambling was permitted in Brazil, from 1930 until May 30, 1946, when the federal government under President Eurico Gaspar Dutra
Eurico Gaspar Dutra
Eurico Gaspar Dutra , was a Brazilian marshal, politician and president of Brazil from 1946–1951.He was born in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, and like many other Brazilians, was from Azorean-Portuguese origin...
had outlawed all types of gambling from casinos to games of chance in Brazil, by his Presidential decree.
This caused a severe financial crisis for the hotel and being unable to survive solely as a hotel, its apartments were gradually sold out. The hotel was reinvented as "convention center
Convention center
A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees...
hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
" in 1989 and is used for many important conferences to his day. The imposing façade and the scenic surrounding of the hotel makes it an important tourist attraction itself. The Palácio Quitandinha is unique, that it is simultaneously a hotel, a convention center, and a museum.
Many famous guests who stayed at the include stars like Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
, Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
, Lana Turner
Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
, Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
, Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Auguste Chevalier was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond...
, Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda, GCIH was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, Broadway actress and Hollywood film star popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was, by some accounts, the highest-earning woman in the United States and noted for her signature fruit hat outfit she wore in the 1943 movie The Gang's...
, Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
, Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, politicians like Eva Perón
Eva Perón
María Eva Duarte de Perón was the second wife of President Juan Perón and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is often referred to as simply Eva Perón, or by the affectionate Spanish language diminutive Evita.She was born in the village of Los Toldos in...
and President Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history to Emperor Pedro II...
of Brazil and a dethroned King Carol II of Romania
Carol II of Romania
Carol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria...
.
The scenic artificial lake in front of the hotel, is in the shape of Brazil, and was built as the only viable support in the event of an unexpected fire.