Kabul Serena Hotel is a luxury hotel in downtown

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. Acco ...

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 ...

. Originally built in 1945, the Kabul hotel was restored and expanded by AKDN and named as Kabul Serena Hotel. It was inaugurated by President

Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

and the

Aga Khan Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Karim ...

in 2005.

Architecture

The five-star hotel was designed by Romesh Khosla - a Canadian-based

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. The building design reflects the

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ar ...

Facilities

It is set in landscaped gardens, overlooking the city's

Zarnegar Park Zarnegar Park ( prs, پارک زرنگار, ''Park-e Zarnegar'') is an urban park in the center of Kabul, Afghanistan, north of the river. The park, a popular landmark, has a green hill in its center with trees and decorated with flowers. A large ...

. The hotel has 177 rooms and suites. It has several restaurants, including the Café Zarnegar serving

Afghan cuisine Afghan cuisine ( ps, افغان پخلی, translit=Afghan Pakhlai, ) is influenced by Persian, Central Asian and Indian cuisines due to Afghanistan's close proximity and cultural ties. The cuisine is mainly based on Afghanistan's main crops, suc ...

, the Wild Rice fine-dining restaurant serving

Southeast Asian cuisine This is a list of Asian cuisines, by region. A cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, usually associated with a specific culture or region. Asia, being the largest, most populous and culturally diverse continent, ...

, the Serena Pastry Shop serving homemade breads, cakes and patisseries and the Char Chata Lounge. The hotel also includes Maisha Spa & Health Club, offering a fitness centre, a steam room, a sauna, and outdoor heated swimming pool.

Incidents and closures

Adolph Dubs Adolph Dubs (August 4, 1920 – February 14, 1979), also known as Spike Dubs, was an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan from May 13, 1978, until his death in 1979. He was killed during a rescue attem ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to Afghanistan in 1979, was killed at the hotel. The hotel was heavily damaged by

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

; it was completely refurbished and extended, reopening on November 8, 2005. The main work for the hotel was given to the

Aga Khan Foundation The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a private, not-for-profit international development agency, which was founded in 1967 by Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, the 49th Hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. AKF seeks to provide long-term ...

and thus it was

inaugurate In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaug ...

d by

Aga Khan IV Shāh Karim al-Husayni (born 13 December 1936), known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam. He ha ...

. It was the target of

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

attacks in

January 2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

and March 2014. With the

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

gaining control of the country, the hotel has been suspended since August 31, 2021.

Gallery

File:Serena Hotel in Kabul.jpg, Entrance File:Kabul IMG 2206 (9484281229).jpg, Inside File:Garden area of the Serena Hotel in Kabul.jpg, Gardens

References

External links

Official site
1945 establishments in Afghanistan Hotel buildings completed in 1945 Hotels established in 1945 Serena {{Afghanistan-struct-stub