Overview & visitor information
Originally a 300 years old mehmansarai (guesthouse for travelers) built by the Safavid ruler Shah Hussein as a tribute to his mother, the building of this hotel has been magnificently restored. It has been transformed into a splendidly nostalgic hotel that echoes with legacies of palatial life that are sinking into oblivion in today’s modern, fast-paced world. The hotel is built around a courtyard plan, a typical feature of public building planning by the Safavids. It contains four arcades that surround the central courtyard (a Chahar Bagh arrangement). The garden itself blossoms with colorful varieties of local flora, and contains fountains and stone sculptures that add to an almost magical, fairytale like setting. The very delicate detailing of this courtyard space can be used to compare it to the much larger, much grander Naqsh e Jahan Square in the city center.
Rooms: The hotel contains 186 marvelously furnished guest rooms, divided into Single and Double beds. Apart from the guest rooms, the hotel also provides 19 regular Suites, 8 extravagant Safavid Suites, 7 fully furnished apartment houses, and 2 Luxury Suites with their own Jacuzzi baths. All bedrooms are independently temperature-controlled, and each has its own refrigerator, color television with cable reception, and radio. Some rooms have attached terraces that overlook the central garden space within the hotel compound. Others provide sheltered balconies for more intimate evenings.
Dining: Complimentary breakfast consisting of fine traditional delicacies awaits all guests in the mornings. A breakfast in bed can also be called for. The hotel’s restaurants are the best known places in town to grab local and international dishes in a captivating ambience. 1. Chehel Sutoon Restaurant: situated across two floors, the restaurant has a seating capacity of around 400 guests, making it ideal for seminar and conference dinners. The upper floor serves as the main buffet breakfast hall every morning from 7am to 10am. The lower floor is open for lunch 12noon to 3pm and for dinners in winters only from 4pm to 1030pm. The menu is mostly Iranian, with some European dishes. 2. Naqsh e Jahan Restaurant: pleasant wall painting depicting sumptuous Safavid dinners, warm illumination, and a fairly small size make this a quick lunch/coffee space for about a hundred people. 3. Ali Qapu Restaurant: decorated much like the Safavid Ali Qapu Palace, using similar elements in different materials of construction. The restaurant can only seat a small bunch of people, around 20-30 at most, and is ideal for hiring out for business dinners. 4. Traditional Restaurant: spring and summer buffets, open for dinner from 6pm to 11pm. 5. Coffee shop: situated in the entrance lobby and open 24 hours of the day, this little coffeehouse serves light snacks, cold beverages, and steaming cocoa delights. 6. The Garden Restaurant: located outside in the main garden courtyard, this summer and spring season open-air diner serves up finger snacks, refreshing natural and fizzy drinks, and a variety of local foodstuff to gentle beats of music. 7. Cheshm Andaz Restaurant: an open-air rooftop diner, it gives you breathtaking panoramic views over the surrounding streets, and the silhouettes of domes looming in the backdrop of the city’s skyline. The restaurant only opens up for summer dinners, from 7pm to 11pm.
Meetings & Events: The Abbasi Hotel is perfectly tailored for corporate events, and is a popular choice for business travelers. It contains a variety of halls (6 large halls, several small meeting rooms) to seat varying amounts of people. The Business Center provides logistic, secretarial, and telecommunication services to make your events effective. These include providing internet access, faxing, and copying/printing facilities. Computers and audiovisual equipment can also be arranged for on additional charges.
