InterContinental Lagos comes to town As you drive along either Ozumba Mbadiwe road or Akin Adesola Street on Victoria Island Lagos, the blue, grey, glass and steel tower looms large in your vision. It’s a beautiful sight, you notice the building has a curved shaped and there seem to be some sort of terrace on the sixth floor. The logo that sits on the flat sides of the building near its top looks familiar. Out of sheer curiosity, you go on a reconnaissance mission to locate the imposing structure; your journey takes you to Kofo Abayomi Street, adjacent to the popular Eko Court residential estate, opposite the upscale Volkswagen Place and Porsche Place where premium Volkswagen vehicles and high performance Porsche cars are sold. As you glide to park opposite this very imposing building, you realize that your camera lens cannot adequately capture the size of the building no matter your position on the ground so close to it. “I need to get up to someplace higher to take a proper photograph of this tower”, you mutter to yourself. You ask an itinerant food vendor, “What is this place?”, the fellow looks at you incredulously, like you just landed on earth, “ Ah! Oga, na InterContinental Hotel be dis O, the tallest hotel in Lagos and Nigeria kpa kpa. Ah, Oga! I hear say them rooms plenty die and say the hotel na 23 storeys tall e be”. Your eyebrows arch in surprise, you look at the fellow like you are seeing someone who has lost his mind. The vendor seeing the look of disbelief on your face, gently advises, “Oga, na only big man like you dey enter this hotel O! Na only Baba Olowo (rich folks) dem dey allow to enter, you go try sef. I sure say them go allow you”. You thank the vendor, adjust your business suit, glance quickly at your reflection in your car’s window panes, you click your car shut and stride across the street. In the intervening seconds it takes for you to cross the street, a multitude of thoughts swarm your mind. How could it have skipped your mind, how did the buzz pass by unnoticed? The InterContinental in Lagos, right here in your backyard on Victoria Island? The same InterContinental, you stayed in while visiting Cairo, London, Nairobi, Tokyo, Mauritius, the list of InterContinental hotels you have stayed in swims like a tidal wave before you. “Hello sir, how may we help you”, the security guard’s voice draws you out of your reverie. Instinctively you answer with, “I’m here to look at your facilities”. The guard’s eyes look past you briefly to the sleek, polished BMW X6 you drove in, parked across the street. Obviously you have been observed. “Sorry sir, you must be on an appointment to do so, we have not opened for business yet. You may call your contact to instruct us to direct you in”. “With a shrug, “Thanks, I’ll do just that”. Your brain begins to swim with names of your contacts within the Nigerian hospitality sector. You swear softly under your breath as you dial a phone number hoping the contact knows someone within the InterContinental Lagos. “Hi Oge, how are you. How’s business. How come you are sitting pretty at your hotel and the InterContinental has practically opened shop in your backyard? Sweetheart, I need a quick contact inside the InterContinental Lagos, I’m standing outside their gate and I want to see what they have inside”. Oge greets you with a short laugh, “Good afternoon sir, I did not know you were back in town, welcome home. I’m actually inside the InterContinental Lagos; I joined the InterContinental Lagos team in a Key Account Manager role. Please pass your cellphone to the security guard”. Amazement, such good luck, you pass your cell phone to the security guard who mutters, “Yes ma, yes ma”, hands your cell phone back to you and guides you through the sign in procedures at the gate then directs you towards the front of the building. As you walk across the gentle slope that forms part of the hotel’s driveway, a smile creases your face. “This place looks like InterContinental style and standard. Hmmmm…we will see if it is, twenty three storeys huh”? “Welcome sir, ekaabo, welcome to InterContinental Lagos; Lagos”. Oge’s smiling face ushers you through the sparkling glass doors. You suddenly realize that the entire front of the hotel ground floor has glass walls and doors. As you enter the front office foyer, the foyer’s cool temperature refreshes you. “This way sir. The last time I heard from you, you were at the InterContinental Mauritius. I assume that was more of a vacation than a holiday”. Your gaze sweeps over the hotel’s expansive lobby. “Yes! It was more of a holiday than business, I enjoyed every moment of my stay at InterContinental Mauritius as usual, I hope myself and my guests will have the same experience here.” The waiting area in the lobby looks stylish, comfortable; you smile to yourself. “I assume that Lobby Café will serve cappuccino and pastries.” Yes sir, it will serve cappuccinos not just any cappuccino but the best in Lagos.” Your escort says. “Over here, we have the Soul Lounge, where you can unwind with your guests after a fruitful, hard day at work. The Soul has a rich repertoire of cocktails, champagne, wines & spirits and of course good music” You step into the Soul Lounge and your eyes take in the lounge’s high ceiling and classical furniture. “Sounds and spirits make a delightful mix”, you hum. “Ekaabo, now this quite creative. Let me guess. You serve Nigerian meals here”. Oge smiles, “Not just Nigerian meals but we also continental dishes and it’s a 24-hour restaurant. You look at the fountain behind the Ekaabo, “Nice, anything for lovers of Italian wine and authentic Chinese food? Oge folds her arms in mock shock, “Sir, I can see you are still the connoisseur of the good things of life, always with that sophisticated cosmopolitan taste for hotels” Together, you climb the winding polished staircase to the third floor. “Here to your left, we have the Soho, our Chinese restaurant Ahead is the Milano Bar and restaurant, our “vault” of Italian meals and wines”. As you walk through the Soho, you take in the furniture, the tinted floor to ceiling glass that forms half of the Soho’s walls. You are drawn to the fountain outside the Soho’s glass walls then you realize it’s the same fountain beside the Ekaabo restaurant downstairs. The sight of the Milano bar brings a sardonic smile to your face; instinctively you reach out to pull out a bottle of Italy’s finest wines from the array before you. “Looks good, real good. Your Milano bar and restaurant will be an ideal place for a business dinner. How about the meeting rooms? Guiding you out of the Milano, Oge gestures upstairs “Would you prefer to climb the stairs or take a short ride on the lift sir? “The stair case if you may Oge, I’m still fit”. The curved spread of the meeting room’s foyer is a seamless blend of white marble hues on the floor, brown and silver hues on the walls and pillars. The sheer size of the Grand African Ballroom raises questions. “What’s the seating capacity of this hall? No pillars? Its pillar less! I see three large projector screens. I see you have set up this hall to be easily converted from a formal business meeting set up to pulsating dance hall if the need arises.” Interesting! Your hostess cannot hide her smile, “Thank you for the compliments sir, we have done all to ensure that InterContinental standard you enjoy elsewhere is experienced by our guests at InterContinental Lagos.” One hand tucked into your pants pocket, the other hand with its index finger jabs the empty air, “This look good, luxurious, I have not seen the rooms and is there no swimming pool on this premises. What happened to the Club InterContinental? “”All room begins from the seventh floor. The swimming pool is on the fifth floor where we also have the Zen bar and garden. The Club InterContinental is on the 21st floor.” The lift’s doors whirs open, you turn your gaze from the enthralling view of Victoria Island seen through the transparent Perspex walls of the lift. “Here we are on the fifth floor, home to the Zen Garden, the Zen bar and the swimming pool as well as the poolside bar”. The slightly winding hallway is a short trip to the Zen bar and garden. The Zen garden is a large open air terrace with tables and large umbrellas, the type of place to sit out and have a glass of juice and pastries. The pool side is much smaller but cute. The view from both spaces is enthralling. The medium size gym is at the end of the hallway. “Nice, neat gym you have here. All the right pieces of exercise equipment neatly placed. Can I see the rooms?” A short riveting ride in the lift to the ninth floor, you step on to plush carpeting. The aromatic scent of the hallway immediately drowns you with memories of InterContinental Hotels you have lodged in. You pause briefly, breathing in slowly and deeply. The wonderful thing about InterContinental hotels is its cosmopolitan yet unique ambiance. Twiddling your fingers in a silent song, you begin your tour of the rooms at InterContinental Lagos. From the standard Superior rooms to the corner King Rooms and the awesome Presidential Suite on the 23rd floor, your lips pucker as you step into the luxurious ambiance of each room with the different special offerings in them. The views from the rooms which are situated between the 7th and 23rd floors are breathtaking. Inside the one of the corner King Suites on the 10th floor, you drum your fingers on the ceiling to floor windows. “I just love the view from here, it’s therapeutic, the sort of thing that helps a hard thinking man clears his mind of clutter and thinks properly. The only downside to these rooms is that my wife will definitely “bend” my arm for us to spend the next St. Valentine’s Day here and I know it won’t be for just one night. She will say we ought to renew our romantic vows. Women” As the lift makes its decent from the 23rd floor, you stare out through the Perspex, your eyes taking in the beautiful view of Lagos islands while your mind plans ahead for business meetings and lodgings for your business guests, your social events, garnering points on the InterContinental Hotel Rewards Club...Oge’s voice breaks into your reverie, “Sir, is there anything we can do for you in terms of making a booking for your events and guests”? “Oh! Yes, there are things to do. For starters, I’m expecting a small team of senior Managers from one of our strategic partners on our steel fabrication project by the end of the month. I wasn’t quite sure where to lodge them now I know. Their visit is a multidimensional package, lodging, meetings and socials. I will keep in touch. Thank you for coming to Lagos. Welcome home, InterContinental Lagos.” As you back out of the parking lot, you turn your head to take another look at the imposing structure. “You took a long time coming but I’m glad you came, better late than never. Welcome home InterContinental Lagos.”
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 09:14:34 +0000
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