The historic Grand Hôtel Oloffson, once a cultural and political hub in Haiti’s capital, has been reduced to ashes following a weekend of gang violence that forced residents to flee and left the area inaccessible to authorities.
The Gothic gingerbread mansion, which served as a hotel, music venue, and unofficial salon for decades, burned late Saturday amid heavy gunfire between gangs and police in the Pacot neighborhood.
The hotel’s longtime manager, Richard Morse, confirmed the destruction after reviewing drone footage. “When they called back, they said something like, ‘take a seat.’ I knew then that this wasn’t like the other times,” Morse said, noting rumors of previous arson attempts had circulated for months.
Journalists have been unable to access the site due to security concerns, but Haiti’s Institute for Safeguarding National Heritage also confirmed the fire.
Built as a presidential retreat in the early 1900s, the Oloffson later became a U.S. Marine Corps hospital before opening as a hotel in the 1930s. It was immortalized as the fictional Hotel Trianon in Graham Greene’s The Comedians and hosted figures from Jacqueline Onassis to Mick Jagger.
“It birthed so much culture and expression,” said Haitian-American singer Riva Précil, who lived at the hotel for a decade as a child. “RAM really created that culture and that environment, made it a space that welcomed people from all types of denominations and sexual preferences.”
Morse managed the hotel for nearly 30 years, hosting legendary Thursday night performances with his band, RAM, and annual Vodou celebrations that drew crowds from across the country and abroad.
His daughter, Isabelle Morse, said the family had hoped to return and reopen the hotel. “It’s not only a business, it’s our home,” she said. “It was more about moving back home rather than reopening the business.”
Though the hotel had been closed since 2022 due to escalating violence, its destruction is a symbolic loss for a nation already grappling with the erosion of its cultural landmarks.
“A lot of Haiti’s architectural heritage is going up in flames right now,” said author and journalist Michael Deibert. “The destruction of the Oloffson is symbolic of the destruction of Haiti’s history and culture that we’ve been watching over the last several years.”
