The Inter-Continental (also known as the Inter-Con) is a

five star Five Star (also styled as 5 Star) are a British pop group, formed in 1983 and comprising siblings Stedman, Lorraine, Denise, Doris and Delroy Pearson. Between 1985 and 1988, Five Star had four top 20 albums and 15 top 40 singles in the UK ...

hotel located in the Karte Parwan neighbourhood in western

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acc ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. It served as the nation's first international luxury hotel, one of the most visited by foreigners since its opening in 1969, built nearby the

Bagh-e Bala Palace The Bagh-e Bala Palace ( prs, قصر باغ بالا کابل) is a former royal palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. It is located at a hilltop in the Bagh-e Bala (''High Garden'') park near Karte Parwan. The palace has a large pool (added in the 1970 ...

. The hotel has 200 rooms and is equipped with a swimming pool, a gym, and about four restaurants for dine in or room service.

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 InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts, is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTS ...

and built by

Taylor Woodrow Taylor Woodrow was one of the largest housebuilding and general construction companies in Britain. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until its merger with rival George Wimpey to create Tayl ...

construction from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...

, the Inter-Continental Hotel has had no association with InterContinental Hotels Group since 1980 following the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. Despite this it continues to use the name and logo without connection to the parent company. 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 The Government of the United Kingdom maintains intelligence agencies within three government departments, the Foreign Office, the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence. These agencies are responsible for collecting and analysing foreign and ...

agent named Colin Berry, who had been involved in the recovery of

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

s 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 Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics o ...

based company. It is the landmark used at the start of the

Hash House Harriers The Hash House Harriers (HHH or H3) is an international group of non-competitive running social clubs. An event organized by a club is known as a Hash or Run, or a Hash Run. A common denominal verb for this activity is Hashing, with participan ...

weekly events. , the rooms are decorated according to international standard, equipped with

air conditioner Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

heater Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...

, TV,

mini-bar A minibar is a small refrigerator, typically an absorption refrigerator, in a hotel room or cruise ship stateroom. The hotel staff fill it with drinks and snacks for the guest to purchase during their stay. It is stocked with a precise invent ...

, phone and radio. English, German and French TV channels are also available. It has an

internet cafe The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pu ...

located in the basement. The telephone system is still operated by its original old manual switchboard, which was manufactured by Siemens. From 2005 to 2007, the top floor Presidential suite has been converted and used as office space by the Senlis Council, a European advocacy group, since then rebranded as The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS). All Senlis Council expat staff were based in the hotel.

2011 attack

On 28 June 2011, an attack by armed

suicide bombers A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

, and an ensuing five-hour siege, left at least 21 people dead, including all nine attackers. Responsibility was claimed by the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pashtu ...

2018 attack

On 20 January 2018, a group of four or five gunmen attacked the hotel, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack left at least 42 people dead and more than 14 others injured.

References

External links

Intercontinental Hotel: Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inter-Continental Kabul Hotels in Kabul InterContinental hotels Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul Hotels established in 1969 Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul