Modern history

THE Hotel d'Angleterre in Copenhagen is being transformed from an old-fashioned dowager into a welcoming hostess.  

Hotel 'd'Angleterre

WHEN Danish charitable organisation the Remmen Foundation decided to sell its hotel assets in 2007 to focus on its philanthropic endeavours, it was to be something of an Alan Bond moment for the foundation's board.

An Icelandic investment company called Nordic Partners went on a shopping spree in Europe shortly before the global financial crisis and made an offer for the Hotel d'Angleterre of 100 million, which was reported as being a lot more than the asking price. It was an offer the hotel's owners since 1993 could not refuse. Then everything went pear-shaped in Iceland and Nordic Partners was placed into bankruptcy. A fire sale of its assets was undertaken and the Remmen Foundation decided the time was right to get back into the hotel business. The foundation bought the iconic hotel back at the end of 2010 for an undisclosed sum said to be significantly less than it sold it for just three years earlier.

"The sky seemed like it was the limit in 2007," says Dorte Ronnow Hansen, a consultant to the board of the Remmen Foundation and the general manager of the Hotel d'Angleterre. "Yes, the foundation bought the hotel back in 2010 for less - I can't say the sum but it was much less. The Icelandic bank that took over Nordic Partners were sitting with planes and hotels and department stores and all kinds of assets they had to sell. They approached the foundation and said we need to sell the hotel and, of course, it was easy for the foundation to purchase it because they knew the hotel and they didn't need a long due diligence. They also knew exactly how bad [the building] was and that it really needed a refurbishment.

"I had worked with the Remmen Foundation before and I got a call one evening and they asked, do you know anything about hotels? I said no, not really. I've been travelling a lot and staying in a lot of hotels. I know about management and I know a lot of things and about people management but the hotel business, as such, I don't know." Despite her lack of experience, Ronnow Hansen agreed to take on the project of restoring Copenhagen's most famous hotel to its former glory and at the beginning of May the initial stage of the project was completed and the hotel received its first guests two years after construction began. A lot of hotels are described as "iconic" but the Hotel d'Angleterre truly is. It's the only five-star hotel in Copenhagen, apart from the Nimb Hotel, which has just 13 rooms. It takes pride of place in Kongens Nytorv, or Kings New Square, the largest square in Copenhagen. The hotel opened in 1755 and, as such, is thought to be one of the first luxury hotels in the world.

"This hotel is world famous in Denmark, as we say," says Ronnow Hansen. "It's a fantastic building, it's very visible and there is a lot of history connected to it. Very soon after buying back the hotel, however, it became very clear that we had to close it down and that we could not do the renovation bit by bit." The hotel closed in June 2011 and all but a handful of staff were made redundant. Not long after work started on the refurbishment it became apparent that the more than 250-year-old building might also be redundant. Over the years and at the hands of several owners, 48 walls had been removed in various refurbishments, some of them load-bearing walls. Major stabilisation works were needed. Then it was discovered that lead-based paint had been used in the hotel and it needed to be removed carefully. "I would say that the lead paint cost us at least one year and I won't mention how much money," says Ronnow Hansen.

The Hotel d'Angleterre was originally designed by the leading Danish architect Vilhelm Dahlerup, who also designed the Carlsberg Brewery and the Pantomime Theatre in the Tivoli Gardens. It opened first as a restaurant by the name of The Strong Man's Garden by Jean Marchal and his wife Maria and today the hotel's restaurant is named after the couple. The restaurant was later sold to Gottfried Rau, who owned The English Club in Copenhagen. He transferred the club to the new premises and renamed it the Hotel d'Angleterre in 1787 in keeping with the fashion of the time of adopting French names. During World War I the hotel was taken over by Russian refugees and in World War II it was the home of the occupying German army. Famous guests include Hans Christian Andersen and Karen Blixen as well as Alfred Hitchcock, Walt Disney and Grace Kelly.

Before the refurbishment the hotel had 123 rooms, of which 18 were suites. During its first phase of reopening the hotel has 35 rooms operational, most of which are suites, and by the end of the year it is hoped that the next two stages of construction will be finished, giving the hotel 90 rooms, 60 of which will be suites. "The rooms, of course, will be bigger than they were before and the way they are put together will be different," says Ronnow Hansen. "We have the DNA of the original hotel but we have updated it to 2013. I think we had an image of being snobbish and dusty and old-fashioned before and not very welcoming. This is why we have opened up the windows and made them bigger and we're very focused on how we greet people when they enter. We want the service to be intuitive rather than overly attentive."

Behind the reception desk is a painting of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and it perfectly represents what the new Hotel d'Angleterre is about. The painting is by Andy Warhol and, like the hotel, it is traditional without taking itself too seriously. The hotel renovation was by Aarhus-based architectural firm CF Moller. Over time, despite the hotel's impressive facade and position on the Kongens Nytorv, it had become enclosed and inward looking. CF Moller's aim was to open up the hotel again. False ceilings were demolished and the original ones such as the domed entry hall ceiling painstakingly restored. A mezzanine in the reception area was removed to create a more open space and the windows on the ground floor were enlarged to let in more natural light. Lightness seems to be a hallmark of the renovation of the building. The main staircase to the upper floors has been restored and the colour scheme changed from a deep claret to a pale grey. Even the colour of the exterior was subtly changed. The hotel is affectionately known by Danes as The White Lady and it would be a brave architect who messed with that tradition. But CF Moller did. It changed the colour from a creamy white to a grey white to give the building a more modern appearance. White window frames were replaced with dark green ones to create an elegant contrast.

The hotel has several themed suites of about 95 square metres, with interiors inspired by Danish authors and artists such as Andersen and Blixen. The 150 square metre Royal Suite is lavishly furnished with gilded panelling and grand chandeliers. It comprises a master bedroom with a living room, private dining room and a spacious balcony overlooking the Kongens Nytorv. Connecting doors to two additional bedrooms provide the option of extending the Royal Suite to 250 square metres.

The hotel's executive chef, Ronny Emborg, is in charge of the fine dining restaurant Marchal on the ground floor. Emborg has worked with Rasmus Kofoed at Geranium in Copenhagen as well as in Spain at the famous El Bulli restaurant and was employed by the Queen as the chef on the royal yacht Dannebrog.

A loud and lively new champagne bar called Balthazar is one area of the hotel aimed at a younger clientele. And on the evening WISH visited Balthazar was certainly living up to expectations.