Allan Saunderson is managing editor of Property Finance Europe and a contributor to GlobeSt.com.

MOSCOW-The Rezidor Hotel group is to open a Radisson Royal Hotel in one of Moscow's most famous landmark buildings, Hotel Ukraina, one of seven Soviet skyscrapers that dot the city skyline based on ideas of then-dictator Josef Stalin and built in Soviet neo-classicism architectural style between 1949 and 1957.

Rezidor's new flagship is one of the city's most famous landmarks. Currently under extensive renovation, the new Radisson Royal will feature 507 guest rooms and 38 serviced apartments and scheduled to open its doors in December.

"This hotel is another milestone in our history", said Rezidor President Kurt Ritter. Renovation work on the building proved to be a complex task of combining restoration of the look and feel of the original Ukraina while upgrading guest services and engineering systems to comply with modern safety standards. It is located on a bow of the Moskva River at the conjunction of Kutuzovsky Prospect and Novy Arbat, two of the city's most prestigious commercial thoroughfares.