The Lusaka Hotel

The Lusaka Hotel is the oldest hotel in Lusaka, dating back to 1914 when it was started as a family investment by a Canadian coouple, Mr and Mrs Counsell in the early 1900 under the name Counsell's Lusaka Hotel. The hotel is located on Cairo Road.

History

Old Lusaka Hotel (Counsell's Lusaka Hotel

In 1913, The British South Africa Company gazetted Lusaka as a local authority under a Village Management Board. The Counsell's Hotel opened its hospitality doors as Counsell's Lusaka Hotel in 1914 after it got incorporated under theVillage Management board.

During this time the city of Lusaka was experiencing some developmental activities in key economic sectors: Lusaka's first hospital was built south of Villa Elizabetha in 1918. In the same year, the financial sector saw Standard Bank opening its doors and Barclays followed suit in 1924. This increased the customer base for the hotel. Some of the guests enjoying the hotel's comfortable rooms and were given a unique wakeup call made by the noise from the first plane to fly over Lusaka air space in 1920.

1926 setback

In 1926, The Lusaka Hotel suffered a setback as a result of floods in Lusaka which caused damage to the drainage system on Cairo Road. The flooding of the city and the hotel may have been among the reasons why the Councell family decided to abandon and sell off the hotel business.

As the city grew, residents became increasingly aware of the need for a hotel in town. In 1926, Lonrho Africa secured ownership of The Lusaka hotel with the intentions of upgrading it to the prestigious status with an additional floor to make it a two story building. This structure has been preserved over the years as part of history.