Carlos Slim: the building that unites the magnate with former president Porfirio Díaz

Undoubtedly, one of the most prominent characters in the history of Mexico was former President Porfirio Díaz Mori, who remained at the power for more than 30 years, and who was one of the main characters for which the Mexican Revolution began, in which other important figures in the history of Mexico were involved, such as Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata and the Flores Magón brothers.

And it is that one of the reasons that led to the outbreak of the armed conflict in the country was that Diaz refused to leave power, in addition to the fact that inequality during his term of office increased markedly, because despite the fact that he encouraged foreign investment, he also mistreated the working class.

During the time of the Porfiriato, the president ordered the construction of various architectural gems that to this day remain standing, and which have managed to become icons of the capital. The Palace of Fine Arts; the Postal Palace; the Monument to the Revolution (which would initially be the dome of a new Legislative Palace), and the Hotel Geneve, were some of the architectural gems that were built during Diaz's term of office. One important fact about this last building, the Geneve Hotel, is that Porfirio Díaz was eating there on November 20, 1910, when he learned that the Revolution had begun.

The Geneve Hotel is located in Colonia Juarez, in Mexico City. It is located in the heart of the so-called Zona Rosa, on the street of London, a couple of blocks from the Glorieta de los Insurgentes. The luxurious building is also part of Mexico City's history, as it was built in 1897 by the Gore brothers, and first opened in 1907. This hotel has been renovated to achieve a clear and ambitious goal: that of becoming a tourist benchmark in the Mexican capital.

The hotel was considered an icon in the late 19th and early 20th centuries because it was the first to implement the standards of comfort that large lodgings now possess. Each room already had a full bathroom with shower, sink and toilet, but without the water jugs of the time. They had hot and cold water faucets, and wider spaces than those offered by European hotels of that time.

This hotel, one of the most luxurious in Mexico City today, is now owned by the wealthiest person in Mexico: Carlos Slim Helú. The Mexican tycoon of Lebanese descent, has several businesses of various branches, such as Grupo Carso, América Móvil and Telmex. However, the tycoon has also ventured into other businesses, such as hospitality, since he owns the Ostar chain. It was in the early 1990s when Carso bought Calinda hotels, a brand that was falling, due to the disparity of its properties, with properties that had great prestige and others of a lesser category.

In fact, the hotel Geneve belongs to the Ostar Group chain. The latter did a major restoration of the hotel that involved the refurbishment of the entire team. From boilers working on petroleum, wood laundries, and copper piping, it was modified to modern systems. The only rule we had when it came to restoration was to respect the classic European style that was available from the beginning.

Grupo Carso Inmobiliario acquired Grupo Calinda in 1991, restructured the chain, and in 2007 sold all its assets, except six anchor hotels under the Ostar Grupo Hotelero brand, including Geneve. Since then, the concern of the Group's director, Roberto Slim Seade, has been to restore the building to its original appearance.

In the restoration of the hotel, the tones and finishes according to the time of its creation were taken care of, stained glass windows, marble floors, as well as original hardware that are preserved and give an absolutely different concept to the hotel.

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