The hotel was designed by BrazilianMelia Hotels International will reopen Rio de Janeiro's long-shuttered Hotel National as the Grand Melia Nacional Rio after the iconic hotel undergoes a renovation prior to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
The hotel, located in Rio's Sao Conrado district, will be redeveloped by HN Participacoes e Emprendedimentos Group, which will spend about $110 million upgrading the property. The hotel has 417 rooms as well as two presidential suites and a 130,000-square-foot convention center.
modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer and opened in 1972. It hosted the Rio Film Festival as well as entertainers such as James Brown, B.B. King and Liza Minnelli. It closed in 1995.