Misplaced Pages

Village Ivoire is a hospitality and entertainment district located on the banks of the Ébrié Lagoon, in the Cocody commune of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Its original building and centerpiece is Hôtel Ivoire, a luxury hotel. A prestige project for the young independent nation of Côte d'Ivoire, the district earned international notice for its lavish amenities, among them a now-closed artificial ice rink which was considered the first of its kind in the West African region. Shortly after its completion, a New York Times article called the Ivoire "sui generis, perhaps Africa's most dazzling hotel".

Hôtel Ivoire

History

During a 1960 visit to eastern neighbor Liberia, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, president of Côte d'Ivoire and mayor of Abidjan, was impressed with his accommodations at Monrovia's Ducor Palace Hotel. He hired Israeli Moshe Mayer, the developer of that establishment, to create a new one that would upstage it, and compete with the world's best. Like the Ducor, the Ivoire was part of the Inter-Continental chain, then a subsidiary of Pan American Airways.
The project's first phase saw the opening of the main building in 1963. A tower was built next to it in 1969, and a third batch of rooms was added to the main building in 1972, the final extension to the hotel itself.

The Ivoire lost some of its luster as the country's economy slumped and political unrest intensified during the 1990s, leading to Inter-Continental's withdrawal in 2002. At the height of the First Ivorian Civil War in 2004, it was the scene of a clash between supporters of Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo and French soldiers of the UNOCI (see 2004 French–Ivorian clashes), which resulted in the killing of two demonstrators by French forces. These events established the hotel as a symbol of the Gbagbo regime. He later celebrated his nomination for the 2010 presidential election, as well as the creation of his new party, at Village Ivoire's Congress Center, not far from the location of the standoff. Gbagbo set up his personal surveillance unit —a detachment of the Israeli secret services— inside the hotel, and gave his militia, the Young Patriots, free access to the complex, which eventually led to degradations and an almost complete loss of patronage.

Société des palaces de Cocody (SDPC), the hotel's public ownership company, assumed direct control of it between 2002 and 2009, when management was transferred to Ivorian-Lebanese developer Pierre Fakhoury for an extensive rebuild aimed at restoring its standing and attracting a new operator. For his work on the Ivoire and other Ivorian public buildings, Fakhoury received rights to a share of the country's oil reserves at much lower than market value, an unusual business agreement that attracted scrutiny from the IMF. In 2012, an agreement was signed with French multinational Accor to manage the hotel as part of its premium Sofitel brand. Most refurbishments were completed by 2015.

In popular culture

Despite their checkered history, Hôtel Ivoire and Village Ivoire have remained an emblem of the country's most prosperous era, and a sought-after destination for the Ivorian population. While only an affluent minority can afford a stay, it is frequent for newlyweds and visitors from the provinces to come to the village and get photographed in the hotel's gardens.

The Ivoire has hosted such international personalities as Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela, King Juan Carlos I, Jacques Chirac, Rihanna and Ronaldinho.

Hôtel Ivoire was the central location of the inaugural Rallye Côte d'Ivoire in 1969, hosting the pre-race draw, finish line and closing banquet. It remained one of the event's key locations in subsequent years.

Amenities

Rooms

At its inception, the main building had 220 rooms. The tower's opening added a further 242 rooms. 1972's third extension brought the hotel to a peak of 750 rooms. The refurbished version that opened in 2015, after a large scale interior remodelling, has 423 rooms.

Restaurants

The hotel proper —not counting the casino— has four restaurants. The best known is Le Toit d'Abidjan (English: 'The Top of Abidjan'), billed as "Abidjan's highest restaurant", which sits on the twenty-third floor of the hotel's tower.

Cinema

Cinema Ivoire was a film theater located inside the hotel's main building. Abandoned during the mid-2000s, it reopened in 2015 in a 407-seat configuration, as part of new local chain Majestic One. The renovated version is the first 3D projection theater in Côte d'Ivoire.

Shopping gallery

In addition to the trade center located east of the hotel (see below), the main building has an eleven store shopping arcade.

Other village facilities

Lagoon pool

A 7,000 square metres (75,000 sq ft) lagoon-style swimming pool that could once be navigated with motorized bumper boats.

Casino

L'Éléphant d’or (English: 'The Golden Elephant') casino was established by a December 1969 law. The same law attempted to prevent gambling-related risks by restricting access to gaming tables to foreign citizens (Ivorians could still play lower stake games like jackpot machines). Nonetheless, the casino was the village's last remaining moneymaker after the Civil War, only closing in 2008. It reopened in May 2017, now managed by Groupe Lucien Barrière. Barrière and the SPDC lobbied for the 1969 access restrictions to be repelled, which was granted in 2021. The building, shaped like a group of traditional African huts, also houses an eponymous restaurant.

Convention Center

The Palais des Congrès Houphoüet-Boigny was added to the complex in 1973, and offered room for 1200 to 2100 guests depending on the configuration. An extensive renovation was completed in 2010, with seating improvements resulting in a reduced capacity of 1650.

Ivoire Trade Center

The latest addition to the complex, the building is split between of 13,000 m of corporate offices and 4,000 m of retail space at the bottom floor, mostly consisting of middle market shops. Envisioned to be completed as early as 2001, the project stalled before the terrain was sold for completion to Pierre Fakhoury in 2018. The SPDC attempted to block the sale, which it considered premature based on interest expressed by other investors, but was overruled by the Ivorian government, with whom Fakhoury has a long-standing relationship. Inaugurated in late 2021.

Central Tennis Club

Originally a three-court facility, it has grown to eleven courts. It is slated to undergo a partial transformation to clay, which will make it the first international facility to receive the "Roland Garros" label, an infrastructure standard introduced by organizers of the French Tennis Open.

Port Ivoire

A private pier and helipad.

Former facilities

Nightclub

During the village's heyday, a nightclub called Zippo was located on the premises.

Bowling center

Opened in 1968 at a cost of more than $1 million, this additional building featured a gaming space with pool tables and a ten-lane Brunswick bowling alley, and a wellness space featuring a sauna and a gymnasium. The bowling installation was not retained as part of Village Ivoire's renovation.

Ice rink

An ice rink opened in 1970, but fell into disrepair during the economic recession of the 1990s and was left off the village's renovation efforts. The building still stands, but is only used as a banquet hall.

References

1. ^ Ndayishimiye, Stanislas (2 August 2013). "L'hôtel Ivoire à Abidjan". Monuments du monde (in French). Radio France Internationale. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
2. Touré, Abdou (April 1979). La civilisation quotidienne en Côte d'Ivoire (Report). Centre de Petit Bassam Sciences Humaines. p. 21.
3. ^ Sylvestre-Treiner, Anna (31 August 2018). "Côte d'Ivoire : voyage Ivoire, mon beau miroir". jeuneafrique.com. Jeune Afrique Media Group. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
4. ^ Hofnung, Thomas (18 June 2010). "Grand angle : Hôtel Ivoire livre d'histoire". Libération. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
5. Kahn, E.J. Jr. (18 June 1972). "The Hotels of Africa Rate High Despite Some Idiosyncrasies". The New York Times. p. 10. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
6. ^ "Briefly Noted". Inter-Continental News. Vol. 2, no. 4. New York: Inter-Continental Hotels. 1966. p. 11.
7. ^ "The Manager and the Hotel". Inter-Continental News. Vol. 4, no. 2. New York: Inter-Continental Hotels. 1968. pp. 10, 11.
8. ^ "Briefly Noted". Inter-Continental News. Vol. 4, no. 1. New York: Inter-Continental Hotels. 1968. p. 7; 12.
9. ^ L'économie ivoirienne – 5ème édition. Bulletin de l'Afrique noire. Paris: Ediafric. 1976.
10. ^ Koffo, J.H. (10 October 2021). "Congrès constitutif du parti de Gbagbo – Sébastien Dano Djédjé, président du Congrès) : 'Pourquoi nous attendons seulement 1650 personnes au Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire'". lia.ci. L'intelligent d'Abidjan. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
11. ^ Dama, O. (10 September 2013). "Tourisme / 50 ans après : L'hôtel Ivoire en 4 dates". abidjan.net. L'intelligent d'Abijan. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
12. Guèye, Hance (9–15 April 2009). "Côte d'Ivoire : les très bonnes affaires de Pierre Fakhoury". Les Afriques. No. 70. Geneva: Les Afriques Edition et Communication. p. 2. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
13. "KORA 2012 : Rihanna accompagne Christ [sic] Brown à Abidjan". abidjan.net. Weblogy Group. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
14. "Visite : Le résumé du séjour de Ronaldinho à Abidjan". teles-relay.com. Tele Hosting. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
15. "Rallye Côte d'Ivoire Bandama historique". historiquerallyebandama. 4 January 2006. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
16. ^ Tanoh, Armand (19 May 2015). "Hôtellerie : La nouvelle aile du Sofitel Abidjan Hôtel Ivoire fonctionnelle". ladiplomatiquedabidjan.com. Eclosion Communication Consulting. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
17. @archigenieafrik (August 22, 2020). "THREAD/architecture : les hauts bâtiments d'Abidjan" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
18. "Hôtel Ivoire". Archigenie Afrik. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
19. ^ Beech, Nick; Denison, Edward (2019). How To Read Skyscrapers: A Crash Course in Architecture. London: Quarto Publishing. pp. 140, 141. ISBN 978-1-78240-649-5.
20. "Cinéma Majestic Ivoire Abidjan, Ivory Coast". atelierlalo.com. Atelier Architecture Lalo. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
21. A'lean (June 2015). "Abidjan est Majestic". BAAB. No. 9. Abidjan: Bleu Roi. pp. 32–33.
22. "African Riviera". Ebony. Vol. 26, no. 2. Chicago: Johnson Publishing Company. December 1970. pp. 83–. ISSN 0012-9011.
23. ^ "Pan Am Travel Shorts" (Press release). New York: Pan American World Airways. September 1975. p. 3. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
24. ^ "L'Elephant d'or". baab.ci. Baab Editions. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
25. ^ "Signature de la concession pour l'exploitation et la maintenance du casino 'L'Éléphant d'or' du Sofitel Abidjan Hôtel Ivoire". Société des palaces de Cocody. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
26. ^ Flatres-Mury, Huguette (October–December 1972). "Le tourisme en Côte d'Ivoire". Les cahiers d'Outre-mer. Vol. 25, no. 100. Bordeaux: Revue de géographie. p. 442.
27. ^ Angan, Narcisse (24 April 2018). "Hotellerie: L'Hôtel Ivoire plaide pour l'accès des Ivoiriens à la salle des jeux de table". fratmat.info. SNPECI. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
28. "Casino Barrière". Btendance. Abidjan. December 2017. p. 71.
29. "Barriere Group launches its first casino in Africa". jackpotbetonline.com. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
30. N.D.K. (4 June 2021). "Tourisme et Loisirs : les jeux de table du Casino Barrière d'Abidjan désormais ouverts aux ivoiriens". latribunedelinfos.net. La tribune de l'info. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
31. ^ "Côte d'Ivoire : le palais des congrès". Archigenie Afrik. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
32. "Notre patrimoine & nos produits". Société des palaces de Cocody. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
33. ^ "Conventions in the Ivory Coast" (PDF). International Associations. Vol. 26, no. 10. Brussels: Union of International Associations. October 1974. pp. 475, 479.
34. ^ "Côte d'Ivoire : Dominique Ouattara inaugure l'Ivoire Trade Center de PFO Africa à Abidjan". abidjan.net. Weblogy Group. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
35. "BTP Côte d'Ivoire – Qui peut résister à Pierre Fakhoury ?". batirici.ci. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
36. ^ Demouveaux, Gautier (4 June 2019). "Roland-Garros mise sur l'Afrique". lepoint.fr. Groupe Artémis. Retrieved 10 January 2022.

External links

• Official commune of Cocody website (in French)

• Buildings and structures in Abidjan
• Hotels established in 1963
• Hotel buildings completed in 1963
• Hotel buildings completed in 1969
• 1963 establishments in Ivory Coast