If These Walls Could Talk ... Long Lost Hotels

If These Walls Could Talk ... Long Lost Hotels

An article about long lost hotels appeared recently in The Daily Telegraph, with information about these magnificent establishments, and the fate that befell them. After enjoying a glamorous heyday, they are now sadly crumbling into decay, their past glory long forgotten.

When I got to the section regarding the Grande Hotel in Beira, I was transported back to the time when I, too, enjoyed the delights of the romantically elegant art deco hotel - a time etched in my memory! - and I was inspired to write to the Editor, putting into words all the joy and delight the place once held for me. 

It may now have sunk to depths undreamt of in 1961 - the year when I first went there - but somehow, I am able to fly over these sad reports and just take a moment to remember how it was so long ago. In my imagination it is as beautiful as it ever was... and I can revisit it whenever I wish.  

My letter to the Editor of The Daily Telegraph:

Sir

It was very sad to be reminded of the fate of the once magnificent Grande Hotel in Beira, Mozambique (If these walls could talk: secrets of the lost hotels).

I used to live in Dar-es-Salaam in the former Tanganyika, now Tanzania, and on our trips back to England by sea, the ships used to call in at Beira, giving us lots of time to get to know it and, of course, The Grande Hotel. Our last visit was in 1961; I was a teenager, and it was such an honour to be invited to a dance in the beautiful ballroom.  

I remember especially the magnificent curving staircase, and ladies in elegant gowns ascending it, in order to pose dramatically at the top, before returning to join the dance. I did that, too, before dancing the last waltz to the melody “Auf Wiedersehen.” 

Whenever I hear that song, I recall the happy times; it’s so sad to know there is no vestige left of the Grande Hotel’s former glory, but I am so glad I was there!

Yours sincerely, Alexandra Wilde