IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has debuted its world-renowned luxury brand InterContinental Hotels & Resorts in Azerbaijan with the recent opening of InterContinental Baku.
The 128-room, new-build property overlooks the scenic Baku Bay, allowing guests to experience the InterContinental Life in luxurious modern surroundings while enjoying mesmerizing views of the Caspian Sea, harbour and Baku’s iconic Flame Towers. The city of Baku is a melting point of architecture inspired by the city’s rich history and seamlessly combines the ancient and modern.
Baku is known for its “oil-boom architecture,” originating from a period of significant economic growth and development in the 19th century. The hotel’s façade is inspired by this style, and the rest of the hotel’s design is inspired by the region’s breath-taking landscape, history, and culture, and interwoven with InterContinental’s modern luxury design to create an air of elegance and contemporary grandeur.
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts is famed for blending international know-how with a city’s cultural heritage and InterContinental Baku is no exception. Guests can become familiar with legendary medieval poet and scientist Nizami Ganjavi who was born in Azerbaijan in the 12th century, considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature. His greatest collection of poems, Khamsa, is reflected in the hotel’s interior design and inspired the names of different hotel facilities, from the restaurant to the meeting spaces. The hotel features seven floors of elegantly designed guest rooms, an all-day dining restaurant offering a thoughtful balance of local and Mediterranean cuisine and a SPA with indoor pool and hammam. The mezzanine floor features the hotel’s Club InterContinental – named Iksander-nameh after Nizami’s ode to Alexsander the Great – with spectacular views of the Baku Gulf and Caspian Sea and offers signature discreet private check-in and meeting and dining spaces.
The hotel’s 128 contemporary guestrooms, including 6 Junior Suites, blend luxury with technology and comfort. Designed for the needs of the worldly luxury traveller, rooms offer Wi-Fi access and a spacious workspace with task lighting and USB ports, smart touch panels specially designed for a guest’s needs, coffee and tea facilities, and indulgent bedding. The Presidential Suite offers luxury and exclusivity with its own sauna and fitness facilities, along with a spacious private terrace, fully equipped kitchen, two bedrooms and a large living space including a working and dining area.
The Seven Beauties Spa draws its name and aesthetics from a sensual poem written by Nazami in 1197, and the space and treatments are inspired by the area’s rich history and traditions, with beautiful marble tiling and delicate lighting. Guests and visitors are invited to indulge, disconnect, and delight in the indoor swimming pool, sauna, hammam, gym and treatment rooms.
InterContinental Baku’s Khamsa Restaurant showcases and blends Mediterranean and Azerbaijani local culinary gems. Visitors can enjoy a spacious dining atmosphere while tasting the very best locally sourced produce and accompanying the dining experience with a selection of over 50 wines from leading local and internationally recognised wineries. There is also a private dining room available for unforgettable private gatherings and events.
Located in the very centre of Baku, the hotel is adjacent to both the Sahil metro station and the famed 25km-long Seaside Boulevard, which harmoniously connects the unique architectural styles of the urban districts with Icheri Sheher – the Old City – a UNESCO World Heritage site developed from the 6th to the 21st century. Baku Airport is only 25 km away.
The opening is the first in a host of openings for InterContinental Hotels & Resorts in its 75th diamond anniversary year which will celebrate the return of travel. The brand will also see exciting openings in Barcelona, Spain; Grand Ho Tram, Vietnam; Luanda, Angola; Ras Al Khaimah, UAE; Khao Yai, Thailand; Sydney, Australia and Appi Kogen, Japan through the remainder of 2021.
Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Telegraph.
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5 Comments
A work colleague had a business visit to Baku late in 2019. He was very impressed and talked about taking his wife there for a holiday. Of course he never got there with the pandemic. This hotel looks an excellent choice when he decides to head back. I may well follow him.
Looking at the pics of those rooms made me think that it must be so exciting to be an interior designer for a new hotel. You get to work with a blank canvass and a fair budget. If I’d created these rooms I’d be very proud of my work.
I’d never even heard of Baku until a few years ago. With quality hotels like the Intercontinental it looks as if it might be the next Dubai. Hopefully without the traffic and sky high prices.
Vietnam is exotic and exciting. At the end of the day you need some sir-conditioned comfort. I’ll have a look at the Intercontinental at Grand Ho Tram.
A work colleague had a business visit to Baku late in 2019. He was very impressed and talked about taking his wife there for a holiday. Of course he never got there with the pandemic. This hotel looks an excellent choice when he decides to head back. I may well follow him.
This hotel has great exterior architecture and beautiful interior design too. Overall, it looks a very impressive new hotel.
Looking at the pics of those rooms made me think that it must be so exciting to be an interior designer for a new hotel. You get to work with a blank canvass and a fair budget. If I’d created these rooms I’d be very proud of my work.
I’d never even heard of Baku until a few years ago. With quality hotels like the Intercontinental it looks as if it might be the next Dubai. Hopefully without the traffic and sky high prices.
Vietnam is exotic and exciting. At the end of the day you need some sir-conditioned comfort. I’ll have a look at the Intercontinental at Grand Ho Tram.