The unfinished Hotel Alibaba. (source: google maps)
If you have ventured into the Staré Grunty locality in Bratislava in recent years, you may have seen the grey walls of an unfinished building, one that some people considered "unfinishable". However, this will soon change, reports the Hospodárske Noviny daily.
The limited liability company Asir, owned by the Syrian Rifat Assad, confirmed to the daily that the investment is now worth €10 million and the plan is to finish the construction by the end of December 2025, 17 years after the process started. Workers started appearing already at the beginning of the year.
Assad also wants the future hotel, named Alibaba beside the Galéria Cubicon shopping centre, to have four stars. What was the reason for the long delay?
Land dispute
In 2008, the company received a zoning decision from Bratislava, followed by a building permit.
In addition, with the financial crisis happening at the same time as the start of construction, a long-term dispute over a small plot of land right in front of the hotel entrance ensued.
At first, the plot was leased to the Sekyra Group, and later to the Hamilton Group. Both have the same share owner, French businessman Jérémy Francois Hamilton Cristau. The plot was owned by the Bratislava municipality. An agreement was reached between the Sekyra Group and Asir that the lease would be shortened. The latter wanted to buy the plot so that the construction of the hotel could continue. The municipality rejected his request to buy it several times.
That was when the long-term dispute started as the Hamilton Group joined in, asking for among other things the removal of the fence around Assad's building. The Hamilton Group is behind both the nearby shopping centre as well as the Rubicon Gardens residential neighbourhood. According to the company, Asir unlawfully fenced the construction site, including the plot the former had leased from the municipality.
In addition, Cristau claimed that Asir leased the plot to a private company that placed billboards in it. Also, Asir allegedly damaged the stairs between the shopping centre and the residential neighbourhood, causing some damage to the property of the Hamilton Group. Although Cristau tried to get the muicipality involved, it amounted to nothing and the matter headed to court, which has yet to make a decision.
In the meantime, the construction was halted and Asir had to apply to the authorities for permission to extend the completion deadline, which was granted several times.
Continuing the construction
As for the plot, eventually the municipality terminated the agreement with the Hamilton Group in regards to the lease. In early 2023, Asir was allowed to purchase the plot in front of the hotel.
The hotel is supposed to have 12 above-ground floors and three below the ground, one of which will be used as a parking space and another for a fitness centre, wellness centre, lobby and reception.
There should also be a restaurant and a congress hall with capacity up to 300 people. Seven floors will have rooms for guests with approximately 240 beds in total.
