Hotel Lusitania was founded by Antonio Romero, a native of Bogotá, the capital city of the country, located about 120 miles to the northeast of Ibagué, who bought a four-thousand-square-meter parcel between Ricaurte street (now, second street) and Bolívar street (now third street) at the beginning of the century. On it, he constructed a one-floor building with 20 rooms, a diner, kitchen and stables for the horses, which were the only means of transportation at that time. After a while, more rooms were added to the hotel and electricity became available, which was a luxury in those days. Because of this, electric power had a rigorous nightly schedule starting promptly at 6 in the evening and lasting only until 6 in the morning, the following day. Water was brought in from nearby rivers and the food to provide the restaurant was bought from the market place, located a few blocks away at what now is known as Bolivar Square (Plaza de Bolívar).
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In its earlier years, the hotel was named Residencias y Asistencia El Ródano. It offered homemade food and the traditional chicha, an alcoholic beverage made from fermented corn or rice, that had been common to the region since Pre-Columbian times. |
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The hotel has received many important guests during its eight decades of operations, among which we can cite ex-presidents of the republic, such as Enrique Olaya Herrera and Alfonso López Pumarejo, who stayed in the hotel during their presidential campaign, and also Carlos Lleras Restrepo, another ex-president; and international artists such as Libertad Lamarque from Argentina, Cantinflas from Mexico and Lola Flórez from Spain.
Since then, Hotel Lusitania has always been among the finest and most respected establishments in Ibagué, and the first choice of visitors to the "Musical City of Colombia."
Old Bar - Hotel Lusitania
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