A Tunisian hotel where 30 British tourists were among 38 people massacred in an ISIS terror attack two years ago has reopened.
The owner of the former Imperial Marhaba hotel in the Mediterranean resort of Sousse said the facility has been remodeled with ‘a view to the future’.
Zohra Driss told The Associated Press that the hotel was renamed Kantaoui Bay to erase ‘the painful memory of the drama’ of June 26, 2015.
The mass shooting happened at the once popular resort of Port El Kantaoui.
Tourists stroll along the five-star hotel’s private beach as it reopens for business
Two years after the horrifying massacre in Sousse, guests have returned to the remodeled hotel
Tourists walk on the hotel’s beach, the scene of the atrocity carried out by ISIS killer Seifeddine Rezgui
Ms Driss told AFP: ‘You cannot forget. On the day we reopened, I could only think of the victims and their families. We changed nearly everything, the décor, colour scheme, furniture, the gardens.’
The refurbishment cost £1.9million, and a government representative described it as a ‘breath of rebirth’, enabling people to have ‘confidence in life’.
Seifeddine Rezgui, a Tunisian extremist, took out a gun and fired indiscriminately at tourists, most of them British. The attacker was later killed.
It was the second attack that year targeting tourists in Tunisia, and the country’s tourism industry has yet to recover.
The remodeled Kantaoui Bay hotel is owned by German hotel chain Steigenberger.
ISIS gunman Seifeddine Rezgui seen calmly walking on Sousse beach in Tunisia carrying his weapon
Flowers were left on the beach in the aftermath of the massacre, which saw 38 people, including 30 British tourists, killed
Pictured is the outside dining and poolside area of the re-branded Tunisian
The hotel, which has undergone extensive renovation, features a spa, indoor pool and two outdoor pools
According to holiday booking websites, one night’s stay in the hotel costs from £53 a night
Its website blurb reads: ‘Steigenberger Kantaoui Bay is a perfectly situated beachfront resort in one of the most prestigious Tunisian touristic destination Port El Kantaoui.
‘Port el Kantaoui is also the most famous marina of the country with it’s beautiful golf course.
This is a relaxing property, where you can spend a beautiful time with the people you love, laying on the beach, practicing sport or be pampered by our professional thalassotherapy team, it depends on your wish, just express it, we are here to make it come true.
‘Steigenberger Kantaoui Bay didn’t forget the business travelers, everything is thought to make their meetings happen in a sunny country.’
In the past three weeks, guests have posted three five-star reviews of the hotel on TripAdvisor.
One wrote: ‘The hotel impresses with its luxury, excellent service and professionalism of the staff.’
A guard stands at the entrance to the former Imperial Marhaba hotel in Sousse, in Tunisia, where 38 people were killed in 2015
The hotel was the scene of a massacre in June 2015, during which 30 British tourists were among 38 killed by an ISIS-inspired gunman
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