SWAT: Serena Hotels has made the official announcement to close down the Swat Serena Hotel, thereby ending over forty years of hospitality and heritage in the valley.
The decision marks a sea change for the region’s tourism landscape. Among the properties was the Swat Serena Hotel that had long been the central landmark in Saidu Sharif for its colonial-style architecture and historic Vazir House since the mid-1980s.
This complex, originally leased from the government, was an expensive five-star resort catering to a niche of local and foreign tourists visiting northern Pakistan to see its natural beauty.
It overlooked the many phases of the valley-from its golden era of tourism to the bloody years of local unrest and then its recovery. Conclusion of their long-standing lease agreement was cited by the management as one of the main reasons for shutting down the hotel.
The Swat Serena Hotel was much more than a business enterprise; it reflected the history of the region because it had hosted many dignitaries and preserved the architectural legacy of the former Swat State.
Now that the doors are closing, the future of the heritage site remains a subject of discussion by the local authorities.
