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Hotel Oloffson Port au Prince Haiti

(Based on 2 reviews)

Ave Christophe #60, Port au Prince
Haiti Haiti
(509) 223-4000

Description:

A destination unto itself, the Hotel Oloffson provides lodging near the center of Port au Prince, Haiti. Amenities include: wireless internet, swimming pool, a famous bar where the house band RAM plays most Thursday nights, a fine restaurant featuring local and international cuisine, gift shop, a lush tropical garden replete with fruit trees and Vodou sculptures, laundry service, 24-hour security, a friendly staff who can assist you in finding reliable drivers and guides.

The hotel was constructed in the late 19th century as a private home for the Sam family. The head of a prestigious and influential family in Port-au-Prince, Tir�sias Simon-Sam was president of Haiti from 1896 to 1902. The mansion was built by Tir�sias's son, Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam. The Sams lived in the mansion until 1915, when Guillaume himself was selected from among a group of powerful politicians to assume the post of president, the fifth president in five years. Guillaume would be president for a scant five months, however, before being torn to pieces by an angry mob. United States President Woodrow Wilson, concerned that the Haitian government might be seized by Rosalvo Bobo, who was thought to be sympathetic to the Germans, ordered the United States Marine Corps to seize Port-au-Prince. The occupation would eventually extend to the entire nation of Haiti. The Sam Mansion was used as a US military hospital for the duration of the occupation.