Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul

The Inter-Continental Kabul opened in 1969 on the Bagh-e-Bala hill as Afghanistan's first international luxury hotel, and in its early years it hosted the jet-set traffic of the Hippie Trail era alongside state occasions. Long since independent of the IHG group whose name it retains, the hotel has been state-run through every chapter of the country's modern history, and it endures today as a functioning institution—a survivor whose story mirrors the nation's.

The setting remains its great asset: a commanding hilltop above the Bagh-e-Bala gardens and the domed pavilion of Abdur Rahman Khan, with terrace views across the whole Kabul valley to the Hindu Kush foothills. Rooms are simple and dated but serviceable, the better ones refreshed and valley-facing; the ballrooms still host the weddings and conferences that are the hotel's daily bread, and the restaurants serve Afghan staples with the occasional buffet spread.

The cautions are serious. The hotel has suffered major attacks in past decades and operates behind heavy security screening, and most governments advise against travel to Afghanistan altogether. Those whose work brings them to Kabul generally favour the Serena's standards; the Inter-Continental appeals to the smaller number drawn by history, the hilltop panorama and a certain weathered dignity that no newer property can imitate.