It was called 'Nova' in contrast to the neighboring 'Temporary' hotel, built two years earlier. The second name was established due to the use of the latest concrete construction method at that time, which was considered the most progressive in Russia. This was the first building in Gagra erected without the use of stone, brick, or wood.

By the beginning of the 20th century, only a few Russian specialists had mastered the technology of reinforced concrete construction. Among them was a young engineer Alexander Yakovlevich Dubov, who later became a well-known architect. Dubov, born in 1877, studied at the School of Construction Foremen in St. Petersburg and then continued his studies in Finland. He began his career in 1900 in St. Petersburg, participating in the construction of objects for the Polytechnic Institute. Working with French specialists who were introducing reinforced concrete in Russia, he gained significant experience.

In St. Petersburg, Dubov was noticed by Alexander Petrovich Oldenburgsky, who sought to use advanced methods in the construction of the Gagrin Climate Station. In 1903, Dubov began building the hotel based on his own design, and a year later it was completed. For his successful work, Prince Oldenburgsky gifted him a silver cigarette case.

At the opening of the hotel, Dubov met Baku industrialist G.Z. Tagiev, who offered him a job and assistance in construction in Baku. Dubov accepted the offer and moved there with his family, where he created many significant architectural objects, many of which have survived to this day.

By 1905, all six floors of the Nova hotel were finished, and 37 rooms were furnished and ready to welcome guests. The rooms were equipped with furniture from European factories, each had a balcony and a telephone. Bathrooms and toilets were on every floor. The hotel was equipped with electricity and steam heating.

The building, constructed on a slope, had different floor sizes, so the number of rooms on each floor varied. The 'Nova' and 'Temporary' hotels shared a numbering system, starting from No. 70. The first floor housed the lobby and service rooms: an office, a telephone room, a porter’s room, and a laundry.

From the fifth floor, there was access to a large open terrace arranged above the fourth-floor rooms. The terrace was surrounded by railings and decorated with plants, with tables and chairs placed under Chinese umbrellas. Two roads led to the hotel: one to the first floor and the other to the fifth.

In 1912, the hotel was renovated and furnished with new furniture. Probably at that time, the fifth and sixth floors received an extension over the former open terrace.

Thus, the building existed throughout the 20th century. In the early Soviet years, it was a sanatorium named after Rykov, which was renamed in 1937 to the sanatorium named after V.V. Vorovsky. Later, the sanatorium became part of the Gagra Territorial Council for the Management of Resorts of Trade Unions and was named 'Ritsa'.

In the late 1980s, the first building of the 'Ritsa' sanatorium was closed for major repairs. Since then, due to the events of 1992-1993, it has not received vacationers.

By the beginning of military actions in Abkhazia, the building was roofless. The concrete ceilings, which had served for eight decades, could not withstand the dampness and began to deteriorate.