The closure of Treetops Hotel in Aberdares, Nyeri County may be short-lived after plans of its reopening 'at some point' in the future emerged.
Mail Online journalist Robert Hardman visited the iconic hotel where Queen Elizabeth II vacationed in 1952 to mark the Queen's 70 years anniversary since ascending to the throne while at Treetops.
In his report, published Friday, February 4, Hardman hinted that plans to reopen the hotel had been revived since the easing of health measures to contain the pandemic.
When he visited the site, the hotel was closed from public but he was accorded a tour inside the facility which showed that it was still maintained with the hope of resuming its operations in future.
"For the past two years, however, Treetops Mk II has stood empty, a monument to Covid-19, closed off to the outside world behind miles of electric fencing and padlocked steel gates.
"However, the management have agreed to give me an exclusive tour of the place. I look around the hotel and find it all clean and tidy. The 36 rooms, including the snug ‘Princess Elizabeth Suite’, have been mothballed, with a view to reopening at some point," he observed.
In the report, he noted that the closure of the facility had affected the neighbourhood negatively and that they hoped its reopening would come sooner than later.
They even hoped that a royal from the British Monarch would visit the hotel to cement its ties with the former iconic joint.
"Local residents including my safari guide, wildlife expert Henry Henley, will be praying for something else, too. Everyone just wants to see visitors returning so that places including Treetops can reopen.
"All would be thrilled, too, to see another member of the Royal Family come back, plant a new tree and re-hang the old commemorative plaque," he added.
The hotel was shut down in October 2021 after it became one of the many other casualties of the ravaging effects of the pandemic.
Its revenue had fallen by 90 per cent due to travel restrictions, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service.
Its sister lodge, the iconic Outspan Hotel, which has been a centerpiece for the residents of Nyeri town was recently closed and put up for sale within the range of Ksh550 million.
Queen Elizabeth II was crowned queen while at Treetops Hotel in 1952 after her father passed on.
