Hotel Metropole, Karachi

Hotel in Karachi, Pakistan

For hotels with this name in other places, see Hotel Metropol.

Hotel Metropole

General information
Location| Karachi-75520, Sindh
Address| Abdullah Haroon Road, Karachi
Coordinates| 24°51′01″N 67°01′51″E﻿ / ﻿24.850366°N 67.030740°E﻿ / 24.850366; 67.030740
Opening| 1954
Owner| Habibullah Khan (Mega & Forbes Group)
Design and construction
Developer| Cyrus Minwalla

Hotel Metropole (Urdu: ہوٹل میٹروپول) is a defunct hotel situated on Abdullah Haroon Road (old Victoria Road) in Karachi, Pakistan.[1][2][3]

## History

[edit]

Hotel Metropole was founded by Cyrus Minwalla.[4] It was inaugurated in 1951 by Emperor Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran, along with then Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan and Fatima Jinnah.[5] The construction of the building began in 1949 on land provided by the Dinshaw family.[5] The hotel was officially opened to the public in 1954.[5][4]

The ground floor of the hotel once accommodated the offices of Pan American and KLM.[5][4] The hotel introduced a music and dance floor to Karachi and housed the nightclub "Summer".[5][4]

Due to economic challenges following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, half of the hotel was converted into office spaces.[5][4] The hotel also had a dedicated floor for Lufthansa crew members up until 1998.[5][4]

After the 9/11 event, Lufthansa and Swissair ceased their Pakistan operations in 2001.[5][4] Given the global economic challenges, the hotel's ownership decided to close the Metropole and began demolition in 2004.[5][6]

By 2006-2007, reconstruction plans were abandoned and half of the building remained dismantled.[5][4]

In 2018, a Pakistani billionaire, Habibullah Khan, acquired the building and land of the hotel.[4]

In September 2019, the Government of Sindh decided to acquire the Metropole Hotel land to halt a high-rise construction and proposed the establishment of a park for children and the elderly.[7]

In February 2020, the Sindh High Court suspended the demolition of the Metropole Hotel.[8]

In March 2025, a new showroom was under construction at the building by Mega Conglomerate.[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "KARACHI: A landmark fading into history". DAWN.COM. 2006-06-12. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
2. ^ "Roznama Dunya". dunya.com.pk. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
3. ^ "The Talk of Karachi; Pakistan's Metropolis; Karachi's Loyal Inhabitants Deplore The Construction of a New Capital". The New York Times. June 13, 1964 - via NYTimes.com.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Masood, Tooba (October 2, 2019). "Once a cornerstone of heritage, Hotel Metropole in search of new identity". DAWN.COM.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "کراچی کا میٹروپول ہوٹل، پرانے دور کی خوبصورت یادگار". Dastak. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
6. ^ "High court allows Metropole Hotel renovation". DAWN.COM. 2011-10-13. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
7. ^ Ghori, Habib Khan (2019-09-05). "Sindh govt to replace Metropole Hotel with modern park for children, elderly". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
8. ^ "Sindh High Court halts Metropole Hotel's demolition". 6 February 2020.
9. ^ Hasan, Shazia (2025-03-25). "The curious case of Karachi's Hotel Metropole 'renovation'". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2025-04-11.