Kenya’s renowned Treetops Hotel, where then-British Princess Elizabeth stayed when she became queen, has reopened its doors after being forced to close during the Covid pandemic.
Opened in 1932 as an overnight accommodation for wealthy and intrepid visitors, Treetops Lodge overlooks a waterhole in Aberdares National Park, about a three-hour drive from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
It was closed in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, which devastated tourism in Kenya and around the world.
Elizabeth, then 25, was staying at Treetops with her husband Prince Philip in February 1952 during a visit to the then British colony, the first stop on a tour of the Commonwealth, when her father, King George VI, died of lung cancer.
Two years after the historic visit to Kenya, shortly after Elizabeth ascended to the throne, Treetops burned down. Rumours say it was an arson attack by anti-colonial Mau Mau rebels.
On the opposite side of the watering hole from the original site, a new, much larger hotel was built on raised wooden piles, where it still stands today.
“We are celebrating the revival of an icon in the tourism sector,” said Francis Gichamba, chairman of the Kenya Tourism Board, at the opening ceremony at Treetops over the weekend.
He said Kenya had welcomed more than two million visitors for the first time since 2019 – without giving a timeframe – and was aiming for three million by the end of the year.
The reopening was attended by Kenyan Vice President Rigathi Gachagua and other dignitaries, including British High Commissioner Neil Wigan.
“We value the history associated with Treetops Lodge. It has a unique ecosystem. The reopening will bring more prosperity and more tourists to the local community,” Wigan said.
King Charles III, who became monarch following the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022, visited Kenya in October and November last year.
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