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Hotel Without Guests a Sad Wonderland in Pakistan

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Saidu Sharif, Swat, Pakistan

November 7, 2008 at 9:05 AM | 0 Comments

For most of us, having the entire staff of a five-star resort at our fingertips is a dream, only attainable with a huge dose of influence and cold, hard cash. But for a BBC reporter who recently ventured to the war-torn Swat Valley of Pakistan, the dream came true in the form of the Swat Serena Hotel, a top-notch resort sustaining itself on hope and hospitality as they weather nightly fighting between Pakistani forces and the Taliban. Having not had a single guest in six weeks, the Swat Serena welcomed the single reporter into their nearly long-lost oasis of calm.

In Nadene Ghouri's account of her solo stay in the sprawling, 43-room bucolic property, she paints a picture of a struggling hotel kept alive solely by the faith of its staff (it also doesn't hurt that it's owned by the Aga Khan). During picturesque days next to the hotel pool, she almost has to shoo away eager shoeshiners, waiters and concierges who are desperate to again put their superior service into practice. It is a truly haunting story complete with notes on suicide attacks and the strict local curfew which keeps her lonely and wandering the hotel's hallways through nights of nearby mortar attacks.

It is a must-read article, a charming yet frightening glimpse into another world of luxury properties which we never before thought to consider. The author's waiter sums up the hotel's spirit best when, after Nadene expresses disbelief at their ability to offer a full menu, he replies: "But we are a five star hotel madam. We must maintain standards at all times." Excuse us while we get teary-eyed.

[Image via BBC News]

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Author Photo: JetSetCD by JetSetCD

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