Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul - History

History

Construction started on the hotel in April 1967 and was opened for business on 9 September 1969. While originally developed by the InterContinental Hotels Group and built by Taylor Woodrow construction from the United Kingdom, the Inter-Continental Hotel has had no association with InterContinental Hotels Group since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It continues to use the name and logo without connection to the parent company.

During the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan, it was used as officers quarters and during the 1990s civil war it began receiving damage due to street warfare by militia men. In 1996, only 85 of the hotel's 200 rooms were habitable due to damage from rockets and shells. It was extensively used by western journalists during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 as it was the only large-sized hotel still operating in the capital at the time.

In 2003 the hotel pool had no water and the gym was missing all of its furniture. The hotel had several power cuts per day. There were still bullet holes throughout the building, including the windows of the restaurant on the first floor. The furniture in the rooms was simple but clean. In February 2003, a British intelligence agent Colin Berry who had been involved in the recovery of surface-to-air missiles and other covert operations was involved in a gun battle in the hotel. As a result two Afghans were killed.

The hotel went through a $25 million renovation by a Dubai based company. It is the landmark used at the start of the Hash House Harriers weekly events. Today, the rooms are decorated according to international standard, equipped with air conditioner, heater, TV, mini-bar, phone and radio. English, German and French TV channels are also available. It has an internet cafe located in the basement. The telephone system is still operated by its original old manual switchboard, which was manufactured by Siemens.