EU – Baltic States, Good for Business, Investments, Latvia, Real Estate, Tourism

Grand Poet Hotel is located at 5/6 Raina Boulevard, the building that previously housed the Interior Ministry.

The former Interior Ministry’s building played a significant role in the Barricade Days that date back to January 1991 when people flowed into the Latvian capital Riga and erected makeshift barricades around strategic locations like the parliament and the national radio to protect them against Soviet troops that wanted to crush the Baltic nations' independence drive.

On January 20, 1991, the building of the Interior Ministry was attacked by the Soviet special police force OMON. Five people were killed in the attack, including pupil Edijs Riekstins, Interior Ministry’s officials Vadimirs Gomonovics and Sergejs Kononenko, and cameramen Andris Slapins and Gvido Zvaigzne.

The building has housed different interior services units since the 1950s. In 2008 the Interior Ministry and its units moved to a new building at Ciekurkalna 1.Linija, according to LETA archives.

The hotel representatives said that the building is an architectural monument therefore it has retained as many as authentic details as possible. The design has been developed by Swedish company Stylt Trampoli.

Grand Poet Hotel head Maris Alnis said that the new hotel has 168 rooms, including superior quality rooms. There is also a restaurant, modern event and conference venues, a wellness and SPA center that will be opened in spring.

Semarah Hotels is a hotel chain established in Latvia, and now includes Lielupe resort in Jurmala, a four-start hotel Metropole in Riga, and design hotel Grand Poet Hotel in Riga.

As reported, Semarah Hotel management in 2016 posted EUR 4.088 million in sales and earned EUR 62,144 in profit. The company was founded in 2012 and has a share capital of EUR 2,845. The company’s sole owner is Russian citizen Nikita Polovinkin.