| Hotel Palm Camayenne | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location within Conakry | |
| General information | |
| Location | Conakry, Guinea |
| Coordinates | 9°32′07″N13°41′21″W / 9.535323°N 13.689061°W Coordinates: 9°32′07″N13°41′21″W / 9.535323°N 13.689061°W |
| Opening | 1964 |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 120 |
The Hotel Palm Camayenne is a hotel in Conakry, Guinea. Set beside the sea, it is one of Conakry's most famous (and most expensive) hotels. [1]
The hotel was constructed by the Russians. [2] It is built block-style, and most of the rooms have a pleasant view. [3] Although completed in April 1964, the hotel lacked essential equipment. For example, the Russians did not supply cutlery, linen or kitchen equipment. [4] Six months later, the equipment was still missing. [5] The building was not well finished, and when the rainstorms associated with the violent tornadoes of the area came, many problems emerged requiring costly repairs. [6] [7] Construction of the hotel and other projects was funded by repayable loans from the Russians, causing Guinea to fall into debt that was difficult to repay. [8]
In 1984, the military regime awarded the management contract for the 120-room Hotel Camayenne, and for the Hotel G'Bessia with 168 rooms, to the French firm Accor. [9] By 1990, the hotel, serving a clientele of business people and aid workers, was being refurbished under a line of credit provided by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, using funding from the European Community. [10] The hotel remained state property, but the management contract went to SHG (Société Hôtelière de Guinée) in which the Belgian airline Sabena had a majority stake. The hotel reopened in 1993 and became a Sabena-hotel. The Belgian airline had at the time a big presence in Guinea with 3 and later 4 weekly connections with Belgium. [11] After the airline went bankrupt in 2001, the hotel remained operational under the Sabena receivership until 2006.
As of January 2011, the hotel had been closed for over five years, and required major renovations to come up to international standards. [12] When the hotel was closed, the 105 employees were laid off. When they tried to seek compensation, demonstrating in front of the hotel, the police broke up the demonstration violently. A reporter trying to cover the negotiations with the new owner was badly beaten up. [13] In December 2010, it was reported that the owner, Lebanese businessman Michel Chater, appeared to have finalized the purchase from the government, although the new president Professor Alpha Condé had said he would recover any state property that had been sold incorrectly. Chater had also taken over the grand hotel l'Unité, renamed Riviera Royals Hotel. [14] Chater, CEO of the Riviera Group, said he was committed to the hotel's rehabilitation at a cost of up to US$12 million. [12]
The shore is rocky. [15] However, the hotel has a small beach, a swimming pool, fitness center and tennis courts. [16] The embassies of Saudi Arabia and Iran are both near to the hotel. [17] The Superbobo supermarket, also near the hotel, carries imported items. [18]
Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea, the modern country is sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry, after its capital and largest city Conakry, to distinguish it from other countries with "Guinea" in the name and the eponymous region, such as Papua New Guinea, Western New Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea. Guinea has a population of 12.4 million and an area of 245,857 square kilometres (94,926 sq mi).
Conakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973.
Ahmed Sékou Touré was a Guinean political leader and African statesman who became the first president of Guinea, serving from 1958 until his death in 1984. Touré was among the primary Guinean nationalists involved in gaining independence of the country from France.
Compagnie Nationale Air Guinée was the national airline of Guinea. The airline had its head office in Kaloum, Conakry. Founded in 1960, the airline had flights from Conakry International Airport. The company was privatised in 1992, and was eventually dissolved in 2002.
Conakry International Airport, also known as Gbessia International Airport, is an airport serving Conakry, capital of the Republic of Guinea in West Africa. It parallels the south shore of the Kaloum Peninsula approximately five kilometers from its tip. Autoroute Fidel Castro connects the airport to Conakry proper.
Articles related to Guinea include:
Air Zaïre was the national airline of Zaire. Its head office was located on the grounds of N'djili Airport in Kinshasa.
Balla et ses Balladins was a dance-music orchestra formed in Conakry, Guinea in 1962 following the break-up of the Syli Orchestre National, Guinea's first state-sponsored group. Also called the Orchestre du Jardin de Guinée, after the "bar dancing" music venue in Conakry that still exists today, the group made a number of recordings for the state-owned Syliphone label and become one of the first modern dance musical groups in Guinea to use traditional musical instruments and fuse together traditional Guinean folk music with more modern influences.
Camp Boiro or Camp Mamadou Boiro is a defunct Guinean concentration camp within Conakry city. During the regime of President Ahmed Sékou Touré, thousands of political opponents were imprisoned at the camp. It has been estimated that almost 5,000 people were executed or died from torture or starvation at the camp. According to other estimates, the number of victims was ten times higher: 50,000.
The Republic of Guinea is a multilingual country, with over 40 languages spoken. The official language is French, which was inherited from colonial rule.
The Hotel Mariador Palace is a hotel in Conakry, Guinea. It is situated in the Quartier de Ratoma area of the city. The hotel was built in 1999, using investment from the Far East. It is the third of a chain started by Guinean entrepreneur Mohamed Lamine Sylla in 1987.
The Cathédrale Sainte-Marie is an important place of Christian worship in Conakry, Guinea. The yellow and red building is of considerable architectural interest.
The Sekhoutoureah Presidential Palace in Conakry, Guinea is the official residence of the President of Guinea. The Palais Presidentiel Sekhoutoureah is behind the Cathédrale Sainte-Marie.
The Clinique Ambroise Paré is a hospital in Conakry, Guinea, is considered to be the best hospital in the country.
Marché du Niger is a market in Conakry, Guinea, slightly smaller than the other main market in the city, Marché Madina. It sells fruit and vegetables and according to Lonely Planet has a problem with pickpocketing.
The Guinea National Library is the national library of Guinea, located in the capital city of Conakry.
Aboubacar Demba Camara was a Guinean singer and songwriter. He led the band Bembeya Jazz National from 1963 until his death.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Conakry, Guinea.