The mansion of Shahsavaran boutique hotel was built in the late Qajar dynasty (r. 1789-1925), about 150 years ago. It was owned by Muhammad Hussein Kazeroni (1847-1932), also known as Kaka Hussein, one of the most famous influential merchants of that era. He had great leverage on Isfahan’s economy. He started his activities by founding two companies before the Persian Constitutional Revolution (1906-1911) with the goal of promoting domestic production. Some socio-economic activities are attributed to Kazeroni as well, including the establishment of the Isfahan merchants’ council; participation in founding Melli Bank in 1927; renovation and establishment of several stores and buildings in Chahar Bagh Boulevard, a historic avenue in Isfahan constructed in the Safavid era (1501-1736). It is believed that he became famous as the second richest man after Haj Muhammad Ibrahim Malek Al-Tujjar, during the Constitutional era.
After Kazeroni’s death, this mansion was transmitted to a merchant of sugar, known as M. Yazdian. He lived there for several years but it was abandoned after his death and put in danger of destruction. Then during the first decade of the twenty-first century, it was unprofessionally renovated by the next owner without paying attention to historical architecture.
In March 2020, this historic mansion was bought and renovated skillfully by Mahdi Shahsavarian, from Isfahan, who is one of the staunch advocates of cultural heritage. The last renovation took nearly two years and some of the greatest art was utilized in it by the best artists from Isfahan. This attractive building, now, is one of a few contemporary buildings reminding two contrasting aspects, traditional and modern. The former shows the originality of the art of architecture in the period of Qajar and the latter is that it is equipped with modern facilities, such as a coffee shop, restaurant, lobby, laundry, private parking, elevator, industrial kitchen, air conditioning, etc. It has 11 special rooms with a specific story that is very different from one another even in detail, especially the king room, princess room and etc.
This mansion has a special waterwheel, plaster columns, colorful windows, fireplaces, 100-year-old flower and hunting paintings, beautiful plasterwork, a unique mirror, and other significant elements such as carved and painted stone walls, dahlia flowerpots, angel and hunting drawings, engraving with the name of the five distinguished figures of the family of the Prophet Muhammad (Ahl al-Bayt), signature by Haj Muhammad Ali, the stonemason, in 1909.
This boutique hotel has a capacity of 33 persons in the rooms and 110 in the restaurant and cafe shop.
