The 13-story, 400-room hotel was built to house foreign tourists attending the 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire festivities that same month.

[1][2] During the Iranian Revolution, the hotel housed large numbers of international reporters.

It made news in December 1979, when a young Los Angeles radio reporter, Alex Paen, arranged a campaign for American school children to send Christmas cards to the hotel, for the 52 American diplomatic hostages being held by Iranian students at the nearby American Embassy.

The hotel has two restaurants on the 13th floor (a French and a Polynesian) overlooking the city.

Additional facilities include a Coffee Shop, an Iranian restaurant - located on the ground floor.