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Marriott: a former luxury oasis in a troubled city

* Hotel hit for third time by militants since 2004
* Westerners complain lobby extension decreased distance between hotel and road

ISLAMABAD: The Marriott Hotel was an oasis of calm for diplomats and politicians in the capital, but its status as a symbol of Western capitalism made it a repeated target for Islamic militants.

The heavily guarded hotel, a few hundred metres away from the parliament and presidency, was left a smoking ruin after a huge suicide truck bombing at the gates of the building on Saturday. Marriott outlets have been hit by extremist violence before - a suicide bombing at the JW Marriott in Jakarta in 2003 killed 12 people - but the Islamabad attack was the deadliest yet on the US-based chain. A squat white building fronted by concrete arches and topped with the distinctive red Marriott sign, it is one of only two five-star hotels in the city.

Western diplomats and journalists, foreign businessmen and top Pakistani officials had long relied on its snazzy restaurants for entertainment. It boasted Japanese, Thai, Chinese and Lebanese outlets and a steakhouse serving only imported beef - all at prices equivalent to about a quarter of the average Pakistani’s salary for one meal.

The Marriott and the rival Serena hotel, around two kilometres to the south, were the only venues that diplomats were allowed to visit following a bombing at a popular Italian restaurant in Islamabad earlier this year. Rich Pakistanis also flocked to the hotel’s regular evening meals to break their fast - which was underway when Saturday’s explosion took place. Former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf had even attended a wedding in the hotel in August.

Third time: These factors made the Marriott a major target for militants - and on this occasion it was third time unlucky. A small blast in the lobby in October 2004 killed one person, and while the government publicly blamed an electric short circuit, security officials privately admitted it was a bomb hidden in a laptop. A suicide bomber then blew himself up just outside the hotel in January 2007, killing a security guard who stopped him from ducking into a side entrance leading towards the Marriott’s basement nightclub. The Marriott made a huge effort to boost security after the latter attack.

It erected massive metal and concrete vehicle barriers outside the hotel and increased checking on all cars entering the compound. The lobby was also extended to include extra body scanners and X-ray machines for bags.

Extension: Some westerners privately complained that the lobby extension - including the construction of a gigantic glass fish tank - actually decreased the distance between the front of the hotel and the road. Footage from the inside the hotel after the blast showed fish from the shattered tank flopping around the debris while rescuers dragged blood-spattered dead and injured people from the wreckage. Witnesses said all of the luxury restaurants had suffered major damage. Marriott Chief Executive Bill Marriott said in a blog on Saturday that the company put a ‘high premium’ on security, adding that most of those who had passed away were Marriott employees. “I salute the bravery of the security personnel who were present when the suicide bomber struck,” he said, adding, “They had stopped the truck just outside the fortified gate. They were examining it when the bomb detonated. Sadly each member of the team was killed.”

The chief executive said, “These guys were defending the lives of hotel guests and their fellow co-workers. They were killed in the line of duty.” afp

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