Located in the Rwandan capital of Kigali, Hôtel Des Milles Collines has a complex and dark history.
In 1994, the four-star resort acted as a refuge during the Rwandan genocide, sheltering some 1,268 innocent people from groups of murderous militias. In more recent history, the hotel shot to fame after featuring in the 2004 biopic Hotel Rwanda, a blockbuster movie based on the real-life events of the temporary refuge.
As of this week, the hotel begins a new chapter – as part of the ultra-luxury Kempinski Hotels group. The European hotel chain, which has recently announced the soft opening of Hôtel Des Milles Collines by Kempinski, plans to bring its signature service to the hotel, encouraging a “renaissance of hospitality” in the Rwandan capital.
“This is definitely the right time to be in Rwanda,” said Christoph Strahm, general manager, Hôtel des Milles Collines by Kempinski.
“We experience here a perfect marriage between … the first grand hotel to open in Rwanda forty years ago, and Kempinski, Europe’s oldest luxury hotel group.”
Situated in the heart of Kigali’s business district, just two and half-hours from the famed mountain gorilla treks of Volcanoes National Park, the 112-room hilltop hotel is popular with leisure and business guests alike – and looks set to draw ever more luxury lovers with the weight of Kempinski behind it.
The hotel is Kempinski’s ninth property in Africa, with three more branded hotel openings planned on the continent within the next six months.