The Grand Hotel de L'Independance (or Hotel GHI), formerly the Hotel de France, is a hotel in downtown

Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, 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. The current population of C ...

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

. The hotel was first opened in 1954 as the Hotel de France, with a modernistic design for the time. It was renamed the Grand Hotel de L'Independance when Guinea gained independence in 1958. The hotel was extensively renovated in 1996, operating under management by Novotel until 2013.

History

The hotel was built during the French colonial period in 19531954 as the first project of the

Atelier LWD Atelier LWD was an architecture studio led by Guy Lagneau, Jean Dimitrijevic and Michel Weill that was active from 1952 to 1985. It later took the name of "Atelier d'Etudes Architecturales" (ATEA) (Architectural Studies Workshop) with the addition ...

, with architects

Guy Lagneau Guy Lagneau (1915 – 16 December 1996) was a French people, French architect, one of the founders of Atelier LWD, who was involved in many major projects in France and Africa. Early years Guy Lagneau was born in 1915. He was a pupil and admirer ...

, Michel Weill and Jean Dimitrijevic. It was sited opposite the mayoral residence. The hotel was originally called the Hotel de France, renamed the Grand Hotel de L'Independance in 1958 when Guinea became independent of France. The hotel was given the Novotel name in 1996, after extensive renovations.

Structure

The original building was a long, seven-storied building, supported by pillars, with a restaurant located in a circular pavilion. The interior and furniture were designed by

Charlotte Perriand Charlotte Perriand (; 24 October 1903 – 27 October 1999) was a French architect and designer. Her work aimed to create functional living spaces in the belief that better design helps in creating a better society. In her article "L'Art de Vivre" ...

and

Jean Prouvé Jean Prouvé (; 8 April 1901 – 23 March 1984) was a French metal worker, self-taught architect and designer. Le Corbusier designated Prouvé a constructeur, blending architecture and engineering. Prouvé's main achievement was transferring m ...

in 1953. The design of the rooms allowed for natural ventilation. Prouvé created the facade of the restaurant, which consists of screens that swing open to the sea, and Perriand used her experience in humid climates with the interior rooms.

Mathieu Matégot Mathieu Matégot (4 April 1910 – February 2001) was a Hungarian / French designer and material artist. He was one of the most renowned French designers of the 1950s. Early years Matégot was born on 4 April 1910 at Tápió-Sully, a villa ...

undertook the decoration. After renovation, the Hotel GHI is one of the largest hotels in the country, with 12 floors in the new west wing. It is situated near the

Presidential Palace A presidential palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. Some presidential palaces were once the official residences to monarchs in former monarchies that were preserved during those states' transition into republics. ...

Sandervalia National Museum The Sandervalia National Museum () is the national museum of Guinea, situated in the capital, Conakry. Most of the rooms are empty, but it contains a limited display of traditional objects from different regions of Guinea, as well as objects and s ...

and Palais du Peuple. The hotel has 196 rooms, two restaurants, two bars and five conference rooms used for meetings and seminars. The ''Cote Jardin'' restaurant serves international cuisine and ''Cote Mer'' caters in

French cuisine French cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices of France. In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a Court (royal), court chef known as "Taillevent", wrote ''Le Viandier'', one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France. In ...

. The hotel bars are ''Baffila'' and ''Sorro''.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.hotelghi.com/ Hotels in Guinea Buildings and structures in Conakry Hotels established in 1954 Hotel buildings completed in 1954 1954 establishments in Guinea

History

Structure

See also

References

External links