Radisson Blu Sobieski Hotel

The Radisson Blu Sobieski Hotel, formerly known as the Jan III Sobieski Hotel, is a four-star establishment in Warsaw, located at 1 Artura Zawiszy Square. It was designed in the 1990s by architects Wolfgang Triessing and Maciej Nowicki, and opened its doors in 1992. The building stands out due to its unusual architectural form, which references corner tenement houses from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as its distinctive and controversial façade color scheme, featuring shades of blue, yellow, brown, and orange. As a result of its originality, the building was awarded the title of "Nightmare of the Six Years 1989–1995" in a public poll, and as of early 2023, it was still considered one of the most garish structures in the capital. The hotel's foundation involved two state-owned banks, PKO BP and Pekao S.A., and in 2006, it was acquired by the Polish-Austrian consortium Warimpex. Since then, the property has had several operators, and in 2011, management was taken over by the Norwegian company Wenaasgruppen, which integrated the hotel into the Radisson Blu network. Despite its architectural controversy, the hotel remains a popular destination in Warsaw, being one of two properties of this chain in the city. In 2023, the façade underwent a transformation when the building was repainted in a uniform shade of gray, sparking controversy among culture and art enthusiasts. The Warsaw conservator of monuments applied to have the building listed in the register of historical monuments, which would have preserved its original color scheme, but the application was rejected by the Mazovian Provincial Conservator of Monuments.