Hôtel Montana
| Hôtel Montana | |
|---|---|
 Hôtel Montana in 2007 | |
  Location within Haiti | |
| General information | |
| Location | Pétionville, Haiti |
| Coordinates | 18°31′38″N 72°17′52″W / 18.52722°N 72.29778°W |
| Opening | 1946 |
|
www | |
The Hôtel Montana is a hotel in the Pétionville suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.[1] Built in 1946, the hotel was a popular four star tourist resort until the main building collapsed along with most buildings in the city during the 2010 Haiti earthquake. An estimated 200 of 300 guests were reported missing the day after the collapse.[2]
Among the people staying at the hotel during the earthquake were staff and peacekeepers of the United Nations, whose MINUSTAH headquarters in the Hotel Christopher also collapsed; some of these are also still missing.[3] Well-known survivors from MINUSTAH who once lived in properties of the hotel; are Ingrid Lopez and German Martinez alongside their daughters. The Martinez-Lopez family has been interviewed various times by several news channels, including by respected Colombian journalist and diplomat María Emma Mejía Vélez.
Among the casualties from the collapse were also Serge Marcil, former Canadian MP, former member of the Canadian Privy Council, former Quebec provincial cabinet minister, former Quebec MNA.[4] Other casualties included Sam Dixon, head of the United Methodist Committee on Relief, Clinton Rabb, head of the United Methodist office of mission volunteers and Tran Trieu Quan, president of the International Taekwon-Do Federation. A seven-year-old boy, Aile Stefanson, of the family that owns the hotel, was also killed there.[5]
The hotel donated what could be salvaged from its freezers to Pétionville restaurant Muncheez, which was at the time working as a community soup kitchen, serving free meals.[6]
Demolition of the hotel began on 28 January 2010.[7]
As of April 2011, the hotel was undergoing reconstruction, with the bar, pool, restaurant and some rooms already being open to guests.[8]
Reopened
The hotel has reopened with fewer rooms, but with full service restored.[9]
References
- ↑ Hotel Montana Official Website
- ↑ Haiti's Hôtel Montana, Hotel Christopher Collapse; Hundreds Feared Dead Hotels Magazine, January 13, 2010
- ↑ Huffington Post, "Haiti: Stunned UN Faces Own Tragedy and Gigantic Relief Effort", Evelyn Leopold, 14 January 2010 (accessed 14 January 2010)
- ↑ Canadian Press, "The body of former MP Serge Marcil is found", 23 January 2010 (accessed 24 January 2010)
- ↑ Hotel Montana Haiti Earthquake site on Internet
- ↑ IOL, "Quake survivors score meals from pizza place", Ruth Morris, 28 January 2010 (accessed 31 January 2010)
- ↑ USA Today, "Crews begin to raze Haiti's Hotel Montana", Oren Dorell, 27 January 2010 (accessed 28 January 2010)
- ↑ Palm Beach Post, , Daphne Duret, 12 January 2011
- ↑ Hotel Montana website
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hotel Montana, Port-au-Prince. |
- "Fearful relatives focus on collapsed hotel", thestar.com, 15 January 2010 - includes video clip
- Lonely Planet hotel profile