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Would You Stay At A Former Iraq Prison Camp?

What does it take to convert a bunch of old US military trailers into a select service hotel? Apparently, just a little indoor plumbing and some catering. That's what's happening over at Camp Bucca in Iraq, just outside the town of Basra.

Among hundreds of other US military bases across Iraq that have been recently abandoned, an Iraqi developer saw the potential to develop this particular site into a hotel. The only drawback? It's a former prison camp. The NY Times reports that many, if not all, of the recent guests have been oil company executives—and boy, were they shocked when the bus dropped them off in front of an empty, dirt-walled trailer park enclosed by barbed wire.

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Dangerous Hotels / Iraq Hotels / Hotel Hype / → All Tags

Iraq to Get a Five-Star Hotel

Apparently even war zones need new five-star hotels because northern Iraq’s getting one in 2009: the Erbil Rotana Hotel is due to open as part of Rotana’s push to expand across the Middle East.

The Erbil Rotana sounds like a pretty run-of-the-mill luxury hotel with 205 rooms and a Bodylines health club. Erbil is a Kurdish city in the north and is actually fairly well served by international airlines--even Austrian Airlines lands there four times a week.

But nobody’s going so far as to say that this place is safe; Business Traveller says:

Terrorist activity is statistically lower than in the rest of Iraq ... the region’s security situation is “relatively benign”

Statistically lower risk? Well, sign us up for a double room please.

[Photo of downtown Erbil: ttmooney]

Hotel News / Marriott Hotels / Political Hotels / Bill Marriott / → All Tags

Marriott Mulls a Hotel in Baghdad

While you may want to swim at the Marriott in Manhattan, visiting the Marriott in Baghdad probably doesn't sounds so refreshing.

The Washington Post said Bill Marriott and co. were contemplating opening a hotel in the fortified Green Zone of Baghdad. Um yeah, that sounds crazy.

Opening a Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh is one thing. But moving into Baghdad is quite another. The Green Zone has been a frequent target of attacks by insurgents. A recent flare-up, when 114 rocket and mortar rounds fell in the Green Zone during a 30-day period ending in late April, showed the unpredictability of the danger.

Marriott is actually aggressively attempting to expand its presence in the Middle East from 26 to about 75 over the next several years. Yet we say, maybe Marriott should work on streamlining their WiFi policy before they start building in Iraq?

[Photo: Csmonitor]

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Hotels in Iraq

Not everyone is planning a trip to Iraq, but many courageous reporters, scholarly types, and others are, and these folks need info on where to stay.  

Andy HoboTraveler does a great of chronicling his travels throughout the Middle East, and recommending different hotels for visitors to Iraq and beyond. Check it out.