TALLINN - Preparations are underway for the upcoming visit of U.S. President George W. Bush, who will arrive in Tallinn on Nov. 27. It is the president's first trip to Estonia.
Bush and his entourage have booked the entire 24-floor Radisson SAS Hotel for their stay at an undisclosed cost.
"Yes, the hotel is fully booked for Bush's overnight stay," Radisson SAS sales director Kersti Vaino said.
The hotel has 280 rooms, ranging in price from 150 to 510 euros a night, although Vaino refused to reveal if the president had been given a bulk discount.
It would only be appropriate that Bush stay in the hotel's presidential suite, the most expensive hotel room in Estonia, which costs 16,000 kroons (1,022 euros) a night.
Any other guests who had booked a room for the night would be "relocated" to other hotels, Vaino said.
The inner-city hotel will be surrounded by a barricade of concrete blocks and large trucks. Nearby multi-story parking lots will be closed. Residents of some nearby areas will have to carry identification to access their homes.
From 9 p.m. on Nov. 27, bus, car and pedestrian traffic will be banned from streets surrounding the hotel, some of which are the major thoroughfares through the city.
Further rolling street closures will occur on Nov. 28, as Bush travels about the city to meet with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and other dignitaries. Bush will depart on Nov. 28 for Riga to attend the NATO summit.
