The JW Marriott Hotel in Masai Mara, Kenya, is Marriott's most expensive hotel in Kenya, with a price of $1,500 to $2,200 a night, but just a year after its opening, Marriott's first safari resort was flooded.
The Maasai Marriott Marriott Hotel was not spared from the devastating floods in Kenya that lasted from April to the present. In early May, the hotel's rooms were flooded and guests were nearly washed away. While the area experienced flooding in both 2019 and 2020, it looks like the newly built JW Marriott Hotel is not resilient to flooding. Without the swift action of the hotel staff, perhaps many guests would have lost their lives in this flood.
According to one in-house guest, the flood water had risen to the highest step of the entrance to the room, the power went out in the room, and the phone was cut off. Many guests waded through the deep water to escape the room, and the flood soon afterward.
"I've never been so scared in my life, in fact, for a moment, I felt like my past life was flashing through my mind," the guest said. I didn't get a safety alert when I checked in, and no one came to pick us up when the flood hit, so I had to shout for help. When I fell into the water, my knee was cut and I had no idea what was in the water. Luckily, a staff member eventually found me. ”
The only consolation in this disaster was that all the guests, including those who stayed in the tents, were finally saved. The hotel arranged for two helicopters to transport them away and then charter a flight to Nairobi.
Later, guests learned that the two bridges leading to the hotel had been washed away by floods and that part of the hotel's buildings had also been washed away. Guests were satisfied with Marriott's service, but not with the construction of the JW Marriott Hotel in Masai Mara.
One guest, who asked not to be named, said: "According to the unanimous opinion of our guests after they were rescued, this hotel is a death trap and we will never set foot in that area again." Considering the floods of 2019 and 2020, the construction of this hotel is debatable. ”
The hotel's room price starts at $2,200 per night in the peak season and $1,500 in the off-season, and when the reporter tried to book online, he found that whether he chooses a one-night stay or a five-night stay, he will not be able to book a room until December 2024 at the earliest, and there are not many listings, and the room rate is about $1,600 a night.
It is reported that the reason for the inability to book is that the hotel has closed reservations from May to November, but it may still be open for reservations in the future, I don't know if it is because of the impact of this flood, because the summer animal migration season is the most tourist time in Kenya.
According to Kenya's Ministry of Home Affairs, the death toll from floods and other heavy rain-induced accidents in the country had risen to 228 as of May 5 local time. Kenya is not the only country that has experienced flooding, as heavy rainfall has caused flooding in East African countries such as Tanzania and Burundi.
Kenya is now in the midst of the rainy season from March to May, with heavy rainfall that began in mid-March and lasted for nearly two months. The East African region was also reported to have experienced record flooding during the last rainy season at the end of 2023. Scientists believe that climate change is leading to more intense and frequent extreme weather events.
Some time ago, the desert city of Dubai suffered the heaviest rainfall in 75 years, and there were also floods. Although some people later attributed the extreme weather entirely to the country's recent artificial rainfall operations. But experts say that artificial rainfall will have a slight impact on storms at best, and that heavy rainfall is more likely to be caused by climate change affecting weather systems.
Wei Ke, deputy director of the Monsoon System Research Center of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: "Because of the extreme climate caused by global warming, not only Dubai, but also other parts of the world have seen all kinds of rare extreme weather. ”
Reporter Weng Hanjun
Original title: The world's most expensive Marriott hotel was hit by floods, and the room rate was as high as $2,200 in peak season, and tourists called the hotel a "death trap"
Source: Orange Persimmon Interactive