Meikles

one of the best in Africa In 1915 a charming hotel opened its doors in an elegant colonial building at the centre of the thriving city that is now Harare. The visionary who built and developed this hotel was businessman Thomas Meikle, whose name the hotel still proudly bears. The original Meikles, with its spacious, open verandahs, courteous service, value-for-money menus and comfortable accommodation, became synonymous with quality and friendship. "Meet you at Meikles" was and is the recognition that there really is nowhere else in Harare that consistently delights those who seek nothing but the best. Meikles has changed dramatically over the years, with the `new' Meikles regularly rising Phoenix-like from the dust of demolition, as the hotel adapted to meet the ever-changing needs of a growing country. Today's magnificent hotel is not at all like the high-ceilinged, two-storied colonial building of its birth, but Mr Meikle's original commitment to the highest possible standard of produce and service has not changed. An enduring and much-loved feature of the history of Meikles is the legendary pair of lions now gazing out over Africa Unity Square from the north wing. The two lions were created in 1912 by Italian sculptor Euletto Jotto and for many decades were on the hotel cupola overlooking Second Street. Legend had it that the lions roared every time a virgin walked by.... The history of Meikles is tightly woven into the history of Zimbabwe as the hotel has consistently found itself at the heart of the political drama that has shaped this country, since the arrival in 1890 of the first European settlers. The first parliament of what was then the Colony of Southern Rhodesia met in Meikles in 1924, and the hotel has since then been a neutral meeting place for African nationalists, British Governors, Constitutional Negotiators, Prime Ministers and Presidents seeking solutions to difficult political questions.