Oslo

Oslo (English pronunciation: /ˈɒzloʊ/, OZ-loh,Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈuʂˈlu]  ( listen) or, rarer [ˈusˈlu] or [ˈuʂlu]) is the capital and the most populous city in Norway.

Oslo constitutes both a county and a municipality. Founded in the year 1040, and established as a "kaupstad" or trading place in 1048 by King Harald III, the city was elevated to a bishopric in 1070 and a capital under Haakon V around 1300. Personal unions with Denmark from 1397 to 1523 and again from 1536 to 1814 and with Sweden from 1814 to 1905 reduced its influence. After being destroyed by a fire in 1624, the city was moved closer to Akershus Fortress during the reign of King Christian IV and renamed Christiania in his honour. It was established as a municipality (formannskapsdistrikt) on 1 January 1838. Following a spelling reform, it was known as Kristiania from 1877 to 1925, at which time its original Norwegian name was restored.

Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of Norway. The city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is an important centre for maritime industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to many companies within the maritime sector, some of which are among the world's largest shipping companies, shipbrokers and maritime insurance brokers. Oslo is a pilot city of the Council of Europe and the European Commission intercultural cities programme.

Hotel

A hotel is an establishment that provides lodging paid on a short-term basis. Facilities provided may range from a basic bed and storage for clothing, to luxury features like en-suite bathrooms. Larger hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, business centre, childcare, conference facilities and social function services. Hotel rooms are usually numbered (or named in some smaller hotels and B&Bs) to allow guests to identify their room. Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In the United Kingdom, a hotel is required by law to serve food and drinks to all guests within certain stated hours. In Japan, capsule hotels provide a minimized amount of room space and shared facilities.

The precursor to the modern hotel was the inn of medieval Europe. For a period of about 200 years from the mid-17th century, coaching inns served as a place for lodging for coach travelers. Inns began to cater for richer clients in the mid-18th century. One of the first hotels in a modern sense was opened in Exeter in 1768. Hotels proliferated throughout Western Europe and North America in the 19th century, and luxury hotels began to spring up in the later part of the century.

Grand Hotel

A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one built in a traditional architectural style. More specifically, Grand Hotel may refer to:

Hotels

Europe

Radisson Blu

Radisson Blu, formerly Radisson SAS, is an upper upscale brand for Radisson Hotels mostly outside the United States, including those in Europe, Africa, and Asia. These are operated by Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.

Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) used to be a major shareholder in Rezidor Hotel Group and licensed its brand for Radisson SAS hotels. Following the withdrawal of SAS from the partnership in 2009, the name changed from Radisson SAS to Radisson Blu. The new brand is being introduced gradually across the portfolio. In 2012, Carlson Hotels and Rezidor Hotel Group combined to form Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.

Radisson Blu operates 265 hotels, with 42 projects in development.

History

In 1960, the Royal Copenhagen hotel opened in Denmark. Designed by the Arne Jacobsen for SAS International Hotels (SIH) - the hotel division of the Scandinavian airline group, SAS.

Radisson SAS was created in 1994 when SAS International Hotels (SIH) joined forces with the Radisson brand for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in a joint branding initiative.

Hotel Bristol

The Hotel Bristol is the name of more than 200 hotels around the world. They range from grand European hotels, such as Hôtel Le Bristol Paris and the Bristol in Warsaw or Vienna to budget hotels, such as the SRO (single room only) Bristol in San Francisco. They are not a chain, except in Brazil, where Bristol Hoteis & Resorts has around a dozen hotels throughout the country with the Bristol name.

Origins

The first known Hotel Bristol was in Place Vendôme in Paris. It opened in 1816 and became a favourite of the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, who had a suite there. When it closed in 1916, its name was fought over, and finally won by Hippolyte Jammet, who opened Hôtel Le Bristol Paris in nearby Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, today one of the city's five-star palace hotels.

Two possible origins of the name are the association with the English port-city of Bristol, and Frederick Hervey, the fourth Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry (1730–1803). According to his biographer: "So widely famed was the Bishop as a traveller, and so great his reputation as a connoisseur of all good things, that Lord Bristol's hotel...came to be the best known and regarded in every city or town where he sojourned and was thus the precursor of the Hotels Bristol to be found all over Europe." Lord Bristol died in Italy at the start of the Napoleonic wars (1803–15), which interrupted the Grand Tour. The Bristol in Paris was one of many opened in the ensuing peace, hoping to re-establish the Continental tourist trade.