Great Northern Hotel Caligae
The Great Northern Hotel Caligae was a luxurious hotel established in 1731 AN in the Elwynnese bailiwick and city of Caligae, near Cape Farewell at the northern tip of the Benacian continent. While the original chain of ownership was obscured, it ultimately traced back to the Society for Benevolent Investment, a fraternal organisation and investment club based in Novi Nigrad, Sathrati.
Origins
The Great Northern Hotel was commissioned by an anonymous group of investors as a new landmark hotel to take advantage of Caligae's prime location as a commercial and political centre in northern Elwynn. Construction began in late 1729 AN after the consortium, operating under the front company Pentermacht Holdings, quietly acquired several properties along the city's harbour front.
Design
The hotel's grand design was the work of renowned Batavian architect Martinus van der Stroom. Van der Stroom envisioned an opulent five-storey building faced in grey granite in the Humanist Brutalist style. The most striking exterior features were the twin five-storey circular towers flanking the main entrance.
The interior featured lavish furnishings and decor sourced from across the Raspur Pact nations. The lobby's centrepiece was a massive chryselephantine sculpture of the goddess Elwynn commissioned from a renowned Chrysean artist. Other amenities included two large ballrooms, a grand dining hall, smoking lounges, a gaming parlour, and 150 guest suites.
Facilities
Beyond just accommodations, the Great Northern Hotel offered a range of facilities fitting for the time's most elite travellers:
- A private dock to receive guests arriving by ship
- Helicopter landing pad and docking terminal for gravimetric vehicles
- A bathing complex with heated saltwater pools
- A seaside promenade for leisure strolls
- Fine dining overseen by chefs recruited from Nouvelle Alexandrie
