Heliopolis Palace Hotel Lap of luxury

Heliopolis Palace Hotel

Lap of luxury

Milad Zaky

It looks like Baron Edouard Louis Joseph Empain might have been reading into the future when, at the outset of the 20th century, he thought of transforming a barren area 10 kilometres from the centre of Cairo into a lively residential district full of greenery. With the city becoming increasingly cramped for its inhabitants, the idea was to establish a pleasant suburb. Belgian entrepreneur Edouard Empain raised an enormous sum of money from across Europe and filed a request to the Egyptian government for a franchise for a new suburb called Heliopolis after the ancient Egyptian city that once stood nearby. Legendary Arab palace Within a few years Heliopolis was full of life. Its palaces and villas were unrivalled, and moreover it was linked to the centre of Cairo via a metropolitan railway line. One of the most prominent features of the suburb was the Heliopolis Palace Hotel, described by foreign visitors of the time as a “legendary Arab palace”. The hotel was built in response to Egypt’s emerging tourist industry and its construction lasted for two years (1908 – 1910). Belgian architect Ernest Gaspard designed the hotel, which was erected on an area covering 40,000 square metres. The project was executed by the firms Leon Rolin & Co. and Padova, Dentamaro & Ferro, then the two largest civil contractors in Egypt. The palace’s renowned dome rose 55 metres above the 589-square-metre reception hall and was connected to it via a colonnade with 22 Italian marble columns. The dome was designed by French architect Alexandre Marseille and decorated by George Louis Cleur. Oriental decoration Damascus-made lamps hung from every nook and cranny, while oriental carpets covered the entire hotel area. The mahogany furniture was imported from England. The walls, particularly those of the hotel’s sprawling public rooms, were covered with mirrors from floor to ceiling. When the hotel was opened on 1 December 1910 it had 400 rooms and 55 luxurious apartments for VIPs. The hotel’s proprietor, Monsieur Marquet attended the inauguration along with a group of celebrities. The general manager was Herr Doerhoefer, while its first food and beverage manager was Monsieur Bedard assisted by Chef Gouin. The basement and staff areas were so large that a narrow gauge railway was installed running the length of the hotel, passing by offices, kitchens, pantries, refrigerators and storerooms. To attract visitors, Baron Empain organised horseracing events for French and British residents. Winners were granted financial awards, and the event brought more guests to the hotel. The hotel’s main halls, particularly the two rooms lavishly decorated in the Louis XIV and Louis XV styles, were no less extravagantly fitted than those in the Abdin and Tahra palaces. Wartime hospital With the passage of time the Heliopolis Palace Hotel acquired a rather favourable reputation and became one of the largest and most luxurious in Africa and the Middle East. However the outbreak of WWI put a brake on the hotel’s success, since it was seized by British forces and used as a hospital for British soldiers. After the war, things went back to normal and the hotel regained its erstwhile prestige as a gathering place for celebrities and members of the upper class. It hosted parties, weddings and conferences, and was used by pilots who used Egypt as a transit point. The lush landscaped gardens were famous for their number of birds, including a blackbird that used to sing at dusk, the time when tea parties were held. The serving staff were predominately Nubian and were dressed in their traditional galabiyas. Although the minimum charge was high, some Heliopolis residents would visit on a daily basis. Among these guests was Baron Empain himself, who was said to have a drink there every day with Egypt’s future king, the then Prince Farouk. Lease of life When German troops led by General Erwin Rommel reached al-Alamein in 1942, the hotel was again transformed into a hospital for British troops. In the aftermath of WWII there was a boom in tourism to Egypt, and large vertical hotels cropped up along the Nile. Unable to compete, the Heliopolis Palace Hotel lost its edge to the new ones. When the unity between Egypt and Syria was announced, the hotel was chosen as the headquarters of the central government and took the name of Kasr al-Ittihadiya. When Mubarak became president it was granted a new lease of life, since the new president lived within earshot of it. Thus it was declared the headquarters of the new presidential administration, and over the years it has hosted an abundance of conferences and events including President’s Mubarak’s reception for Egypt’s Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zuwail. http://www.wataninet.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?A=30562