Grand Holiday Villa

Khartoum’s Grand Holiday Villa is an oasis in the heart of the city. Built in the early 1900s, this colonial-era property was Sudan’s first ever hotel and was originally managed by the Sudanese Railway. At first the hotel catered mostly to intrepid foreign visitors but as time progressed, the hotel’s lobby-lounge became a meeting place for the local elite. Businessmen, politicians and intellects would all rendezvous to gossip, strike deals and shape the country’s politics. Steps away from the Blue Nile River, the Grand Hotel (as it was then known) fell into a state of disrepair. Overseas investment has led to a partial rehabilitation of the Grand Holiday Villa but prospective guests should be aware that the rooms are tired and dated, the beds are rock-hard, and that plumbing is frequently problematic. The two outside swimming-pools are an attractive feature as are the hotel’s gardens. There are superior hotels in Khartoum but none with the character and ambiance of this Khartoum institution that locals simply call Funduk al-Kebir – the ‘biggest-oldest hotel’.

Hotel media gallery