Country’s tallest hotel to grace Lake Tana

Lake Tana, Ethiopia - A nineteen-storey resort, a facility destined to become the tallest hotel in Ethiopia, is set to grace Lake Tana and the number of islands inside it when it opens its door for service in December.

The hotel, which is partially built inside the lake, will sport 150 rooms and suites, three meeting halls each accommodating up to 1,200 people, executive meeting halls, five restaurants, a swimming pool and other amenities an international five-star hotel is required to possess, according to Tiliksew Gedamu, proprietor of the hotel.

Resting on a 2540-sqm plot next to Kuriftu Resort in Bahir Dar, the unnamed hotel will have an inbuilt air conditioner, three elevators two of which afford a panoramic view of the lake, a grand restaurant and a meeting hall hanging over Lake Tana, according to Tiliksew. The swimming pool is being built in alignment with the level of the lake to create the impression of actually swimming in the lake.

Projected to consume an investment outlay of 270 million birr when fully completed, the hotel will provide tour services with boats and other facilities.

Initially, the project was expected to cost somewhere around 198 million birr. However, with the devaluation of the birr over a year ago and the subsequent price hike in construction materials the price has nearly two-folded.

Designed and being built by local architects and contractor, the hotel will be managed by foreign hotel management companies, with some of whom the hotelier is currently holding talks with.

According to Tiliksew, the hotel will have an artificial beach built around it after the construction and furnishing works are fully completed.

The construction of the hotel began late 2008 while it is projected to be completed before the next Ethiopian Christmas, if all goes according to schedule.

Source: The Reporter