While I certainly have a penchant for Hilton, what I really love is a former Hilton, with the rather infamous Mapina Hotel being just that. And with this in mind, I obviously had to go check it out.
What do I mean by a former Hilton? Well, a place that was once friends with the West to such a degree that it was decided a Hilton should be built. Later, a new government came into play, usually of the revolutionary persuasion, and thus the hotel got new owners.
So, what is it that makes this phenomenon so interesting? Well, quite simply because these establishments usually started off very grandiose but are not run nearly as well by the new landlords. I was first to sample this at the “Hotel Alba” in Caracas, where the currency had tanked so much I had one of the best buffets of my life for $3 and the Penthouse Suite for a sound $30.
Anyway, let’s talk Port Sudan…
Table of Contents
What’s the Port Sudan Hotel Scene
In the old days, Port Sudan was a fairly important city in East Sudan. Now, or rather since the Sudanese Civil War started, it has become the de facto capital of the country. This has meant that NGOs, embassies, and of course the government have all also moved here. This is evidenced by the fact they are building the president (add name) a new spankingly cool palace, earned through all his work for peace and the elections he has won, no doubt.
What does this have to do with hotels? Well, quite simply that they are almost impossible to book because, as well as all the aforementioned people, the city is also full of internally displaced people. We tried literally every hotel in the city and there was not a room in sight. This ended with me taking an apartment rental for $50, which not only had no power, but resulted in me having to sleep outside in the pumping mosquito-filled Sudanese heat. Long story short, there’s a bunch of hotels, but no chance of getting a room (see photos).
The Mapina Hotel Story
Once upon a time, well 1972 to be exact, Port Sudan got its very own Hilton. Backed by a Sudan–Kuwaiti joint venture, the Hilton Port Sudan was built to be the jewel of the Red Sea. And for a while, it actually was. It had cold beers, working air-con, and even a half-decent buffet. Things, though, were about to get a bit more Muslim in the country.
And while things were to change a lot in Sudan over the years, the Hilton Port Sudan remained in place until 2007. Alas, US sanctions put paid to this, and it was quickly rebranded as the Coral Hotel and run by the UAE-based Coral International Hotels. It wasn’t the Hilton anymore, but it still catered to UN workers, business types, and the odd lost backpacker.
That era ended in the mid-2010s when Sudan sold off its remaining stake in the property to its Kuwaiti partners. At some point between 2016 and 2020, it got its most recent facelift and a new name: Mapina Hotel. These days it’s less luxury, more legacy, a faded icon with echoes of when Port Sudan really could have been the next Dubai.
The Mapina Hotel circa 2025
From the outside grounds of the Mapina, it still really holds the grandeur of a Hilton, with the grounds being extremely well looked after, presumably by fairly underpaid staff. The closer you get, though, the more you get a feeling for what it is now, with some cracks in the windows and some very busy guards telling you not to take photos.
To be fair, though, it is pretty much next to the (current) home of the President. It is also next to the main waterway of the city, the souvenir-type market, and the place to be for street food in Port Sudan (yes, I will cover that later).
Inside, the hotel has held out pretty well and there is a fairly decent café/restaurant serving good food (I had the kofta) and some great Sudanese drinks, such as their marvellous hibiscus-style drinks. There’s also rather a lot of “offices” within the building that I am sure were not being used as such during the Hilton era.
And the bar? Well sadly Sudan is dry, well at least until you get to the boonies of Bir Tawil.
Where the Port Sudan Hilton?
The Mapina Hotel sits right in the heart of Port Sudan, smack on the main strip by the water, surrounded by faded colonial buildings, chaotic street vendors, and more NGOs than you can shake a stick at. The full address? El Gamhouria Avenue, Port Sudan, Red Sea State, Sudan. It’s basically next to the main waterway and within stumbling distance of the Presidential residence — which means two things: armed guards and zero chance of taking photos unless you want your phone “confiscated.”
Contact Details
Let’s not pretend this is the Four Seasons. You’re not booking online or sliding into their DMs. But if you’re feeling brave, you might get someone on the line at:
📞 +249 311 822 714
Don’t expect fluent English, or even a reply as they are often very busy!
How to Get There
From the airport (which, by the way, is currently operating like a dodgy backdoor terminal due to the ongoing war), it’s about a 20-minute drive. You’ll want to grab a taxi or hitch a ride with your fixer, UN driver, or whoever promised to keep you alive during your stay.
Just tell them you’re heading to the old Hilton, people still call it that. Nobody really knows it as Mapina unless they’re on the payroll.
What’s Around It?
- Street food: Yes, real-deal Sudanese street food, think ful medames, fresh flatbreads, and grilled meats sweating in the heat. I’ll cover that in another article.
- Souvenir market: Right next door. Expect Chinese prayer beads, Sudanese flags, and some weird incense that smells like burnt goat hair.
- Presidential compound: Like I said, it’s right there so behave accordingly!
- Banks and NGOs: Mostly shuttered or overloaded, but still good landmarks when giving directions.
Conclusion on the Mapina Hotel
OK, so while this review is at least a bit tongue-in-cheek, I was actually fairly impressed by what they have done with the place and just how well they have kept it together, particularly when compared with other former Hiltons.
Let’s remember also that as well as pretty much having a coup every three years, the country is very embroiled in a fairly intense civil war. This was a fact I personally particularly appreciated after the RSF rebels knocked out the electricity in the whole of Port Sudan. This left the Mapina Hotel, with its generator, as one of the few places in town still to have power.
So, should you stay at the Mapina Hotel? Yeah, if they have a room, which is unlikely.
Click to check out my Sudan Tours with Young Pioneer Tours