Aga Khan Development Network: Polana Serena Hotel

Maputo, Mozambique, 15/12/2010 - Situated in the heart of Maputo on four hectares of lush grounds, the Polana has long been regarded one of Africa’s leading hotels. Built in 1922, it was the brainchild of Lourenço Marques - a 16th century trader and explorer after whom Maputo was previously named - who wished to transform the city into a second Monte Carlo. The hotel quickly became an historic and cultural haven, and a meeting place that offered an elegance and grandeur that was unique in the city.

In acquiring the hotel in 2002, the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) and its subsidiary units - Tourism Promotion Services (TPS) and the Serena Hotel Group - recognised the iconic status of the hotel. The property underwent a muti-year programme of improvements, upgrades and enhancements that consciously sought to restore the hotel to its former splendour.

Today, the Grand Dame of Maputo has been restored to its former splendour.

	view of the front entrance of the Polana from the 1920s. - Photo: Historical Archives of Mozambique


	The grand entrance of the Polana Hotel in 1934. - Photo: Historical Archives of Mozambique


	The entrance of the newly refurbished Polana Serena Hotel. - Photo: Filipe Branquinho


	A view of the rear of the hotel at night. - Photo: Jon Ivins


	The terrace of the popular Polana Hotel in the 1920s. - Photo: Historical Archives of Mozambique


	The Polana Serena overlooks the Indian Ocean. - Photo: Jon Ivins


	The lobby of the Polana Hotel as it was in the 1920s. - Photo: Historical Archives of Mozambique


	The lobby of the Polana Serena Hotel with a blend of three hues of polished granite with intricate patterned medallions decorating the floor. - Photo: Jon Ivins


	The ballroom at the Polana Serena Hotel restored to its former grandeur. - Photo: Filipe Branquinho


	The bedrooms at the newly renovated Polana Serena Hotel. - Photo: Jon Ivins


	A hallway in newly decorated Polana Serena Hotel. - Photo: Jon Ivins