Kyiv’s Bursa Hotel has been a local sensation ever since it opened nearly three years ago. Now it has gained international recognition by having been accepted to the prestigious Design Hotels group.
“This is a super important step for us,” Vasily Grogol, the executive director of Bursa Hotel, told the Kyiv Post. “Important not only for Bursa, but also for Kyiv in general.”
Bursa announced the news on Instagram on Jan. 11.
It is only the second Kyiv hotel joining the international group that unites more than 300 hotels with off-beat design in 50 countries.
Design Hotels AG company behind the group was founded in 1993 in California, the United States. “For a quarter century, we’ve been at the forefront of a movement in travel by curating a global collection of independent, design-driven hotels that function as social hubs and spaces for purposeful experiences,” their website says.
Grogol dreamt of obtaining the Design Hotels membership from the start of developing Bursa. But the whole process of qualifying for the group took more than two years. The hotel had to pass a number of check-ups by both a special commission and a mystery guest.
Vasily Grogol, executive director of Kyiv’s Bursa Hotel, speaks with the Kyiv Post on April 15, 2020. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Apart from cutting-edge design and architecture, the membership criteria include a sustainable approach to hospitality and tourism, great service and excellent quality of food and drinks.
Bursa is a six-story building located in Kyiv’s picturesque Podil district. Aside from 33 guest rooms, each of different size and design, the hotel includes a restaurant, a rooftop bar, a library and even a cinema that screens artsy films.
Read more: Bursa mixes hospitality, art for trend-setting destination
The hotel stands out with a cutting-edge minimalist design that won it IIDA Global Excellence Award for “outstanding originality and excellence in the creation of interior design or interior architecture projects.”
Bursa’s design was developed by local award-winning industry leader Balbek Bureau. Funded by Kyiv-based designer Slava Balbek, the company was behind some of the country’s most visually fascinating offices, restaurants and other buildings.
Read also: Balbek Bureau wins global fame for offbeat design
Vasily Grogol, the executive director of Bursa Hotel, poses for a photo outside of Bursa on April 15, 2020. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Grogol says that those who pay attention to Design Hotels will notice a new member, which might serve as an encouragement to travel to Ukraine.
“I hope this will be a good incentive for foreign guests to come,” he says.
Another Kyiv member of Design Hotels is 11 Mirrors Hotel located in Kyiv’s historic center.
With travel restricted, Ukrainian hospitality industry struggled badly throughout the pandemic. At some point, Bursa’s revenue dropped by 90% with most of the rooms staying empty.
But the crisis also served as a time of opportunities, according to Grogol, which inspired his team to develop a new project, Bursa Cabins. It is set to be a complex of small remote houses with a restaurant and SPA located about an hour drive away from Kyiv, right near the Dnipro River, where people can peacefully escape the city buzz.
Grogol plans to launch Bursa Cabins in the summer, hoping that one day, it will also join the Design Hotels.
“This is a super step that motivates us to become better and better and not to lean back,” Grogol says.
