Ducor Hotel

듀코 호텔

Once one of Africa's few five-star hotels when it opened in 1960, the Ducor stands abandoned since the civil wars on a hill overlooking Monrovia and the sea.

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At a glance

Country: Liberia
Location: Monrovia, Liberia
Built: 1960

Quick answers

Where is Ducor Hotel?

Ducor Hotel is in Monrovia, Liberia.

When was Ducor Hotel built?

Ducor Hotel was built in 1960.

The Ducor Hotel is an abandoned luxury hotel in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. It was founded in 1960 and stands on Ducor Hill, the highest point of the city. From there it looks out over the Atlantic Ocean, the Saint Paul River and Monrovia's West Point district. It is at the end of Broad Street, in the main business district.

When it opened it was the first international-class hotel in Liberia, and for many years it was one of the few five-star hotels in all of Africa. After years of war and neglect it fell into disrepair, and today it is a ruin that many people in the city still recognise from far away. It remains a landmark of Monrovia, a reminder of the hopeful years before the civil wars.

A grand opening

The hotel was designed and built by the Israeli industrialist Moshe Mayer and opened in 1960 with 120 rooms. The opening ceremony was an international event, attended by President Sekou Toure of Guinea and Israel's foreign minister Golda Meir, among others. Intercontinental Hotels took over the running of the hotel in April 1962 and renamed it the Ducor Intercontinental. A new wing with 110 more rooms and bigger meeting facilities was finished in 1963.

Famous guests and facilities

The Ducor hosted important meetings between African leaders. It had a pool, tennis courts and a French restaurant, which made it popular with tourists from Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana and with visiting professionals from the United States, Europe and Asia. Ivory Coast's president Houphouet-Boigny liked it so much that he asked Mayer to build a similar hotel in Abidjan, the Hotel Ivoire. Idi Amin is said to have swum in the pool while carrying his gun.

War and ruin

Inter-Continental stopped managing the hotel in 1987, and it closed in 1989, just before the coup led by Charles Taylor that began the First Liberian Civil War. The building was badly damaged by fighting and looting, and families from Monrovia's slums who had lost their homes moved into the empty rooms. In 2007 the Ministry of Justice removed the squatters. A lease with Libya in 2008 led to clearing work in 2010, but the renovation plan was abandoned after Liberia cut ties with Gaddafi's government in 2011.

Fun facts

When it opened in 1960 it was one of Africa's few five-star hotels.
The Ducor stands on the highest point in Monrovia.
Israel's foreign minister Golda Meir was at the opening ceremony in 1960.
The Hotel Ivoire in Abidjan was built after Ivory Coast's president admired the Ducor.
Sources disagree on the first room count, with 106 rooms on eight storeys in one description and 120 rooms at opening in another.