Hotel Marinela

Hotel Marinela in Sofia was designed by the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa and opened on 24 May 1979 as the Vitosha New Otani. Its subsequent names reflect changes in management: it became part of InterContinental in 1994 and was renamed Kempinski Zografski in 1997. The Marinela name dates from 2014, followed by renovations in 2014–16. This sequence places the hotel’s present identity within the longer history of the Japanese-designed building and its role in Sofia’s international hospitality. Sofia's Viennese Ball is held in the banqueting halls of the Marinela, a large hotel in the Lozenets district whose tower is a landmark of the southern approach to the city centre. The evening runs on the old pattern: an orchestra playing waltzes and polkas live, a debutantes' entry, evening dress. Between such occasions the same rooms take conferences, galas and receptions.