This KUNA article by Sarah Al-Mukhaizeem states, “the first proto-hotel erected in Kuwait belonged to a person named Mirza Hadi in 1935. He opened a two-story building to host travelers. In 1947, the late Yousef Behbahani established the first official hotel in Kuwait in Al-Safat area near the old building for the Defense Ministry.” According to this website, “the first ever hotel in Kuwait was inaugurated in 1947. Named ‘Shirin’, the hotel was located in Safat Square in Kuwait City, offering basic hospitality services at a mere rate of 30 Rupees a night, including meals.” The second image above was seen on the instagram page Kuwaitt.Kuwaitt and is stated to be the hotel owned by Behbehani. Al-Mukhaizeem continues, “other hotels began to emerge in the 1950s onwards; however, the first five-star hotel was constructed by the Kuwaiti government in 1958 with it being simply named the ‘government hotel’.”

The photo dates to 1961 and shows a hotel known as Al Ahram along New Street in Mubarakiya. The details for the second can be found below. The postcard was seen on eBay.

Here are a few section of a map from the 1970s that I purchased on eBay. As you can see, hotels are marked with a star. In the first scan, you can see the locations along Fahad Al Salem Street of the Sheraton, the Carlton, the Phoenicia, and the Bristol. Up along Gulf Road, you can see Golden Beach. In the second scan, you can see the location of the Hilton Hotel. In the third scan, you can see the Messilah Beach Hotel.

The key and map below comes from a 1985 Meed book on Kuwait. The second map below was made in 1976 by the American Women’s League of Kuwait. I’m not sure the source of the third map, but you can see some of the hotels below listed on it.

The Sheraton

The Sheraton was opened in 1966. It still stands in its original place, by the roundabout featuring Jahra Gate, but has since been significantly altered/renovated. According to the Kuwait Hotel Owners Assocation, “since its inception in 1966 as the first five-star hotel in Kuwait and the first hotel for Marriott International in the Middle East and Africa, the Sheraton Kuwait continues to offer award-winning standards of excellence and hospitality. Situated in the heart of the bustling business district, Sheraton Kuwait, a Luxury Collection Hotel is just minutes away from the commercial and financial business sectors, government entities, and the Opera House overlooking the pristine Arabian shores, landmark destinations such as the Kuwait Towers, the traditional Souq Al Mubarakiya and other world-class shopping attractions.”

Here are old postcards and ads, primarily seen on eBay:

Here are dining menus from Sheraton, posted on eBay in March of 2026

Here is a brochure for the Sheraton, and a copy of the Sheraton Register from 1966

The Carlton

Opened sometime in the 1960s, the Carlton was once located along Fahad Al Salem Street across from the Anwar Al Sabah Complex. The second image below from the instagram of Bader Alshaiji, the third is a BOAC airline destination brochure from 1973.

The images are mostly old postcards found on eBay or Delcampe. The final two come from from MIT and a book on Kuwait by David Sapsted.

Here are dining menus from Carlton, posted on eBay in March of 2026

As you can see from this old postcard, the building next to the Carlton was called the Union.

The images below come from google earth. As you can see, the Carlton and the Union stood as late as 2003/4. Sometime between 04 and 08, they were both torn down. It remains an empty lot. The Anwar Al Sabah Complex was torn down beginning in 2023. The last time I got a chance to visit was October of that year–I have posted pictures of the building mid-demolition here.

The Phoenicia

Opened sometime in the 1960s, the Phoenicia was on the corner across from where Al Muthanna complex now stands (which was built atop an old school beginning in 1979).

The Phoenicia had a well-known discotheque, which you can read about on 248.

The Phoenicia stood next to the Kuwait Airways Tower, which was torn down beginning in 2015. The black-and-white photo below comes from Bader Alshaiji and was taken in 1972. The second is an old postcard seen on eBay ad the shot from Alamy shows destruction from the invasion.

The google earth images come from 2004 and 2009, during which time the hotel appears to have been torn down and a skyscraper built in its place.

The Bristol

Opened sometime in the 50s or 60s, the Bristol was also located along Fahad Al Salem Street, across from the Municipal Park. Bader Al Shaiji writes of the black and white picture, “the building of the Knowledge Department in the late 50s. We see a building under construction, which is the Bristol Hotel.” The letter comes from this site. The old postcards were found on eBay or Delcampe. The second last image comes from a book from the 1950s or 60s – the photo was taken before the municipal park was built in 1962. The final image comes from Kuwait Tourist Guide.

Golden Beach

Mark at 248 has posted about this hotel, including when it had a casino. The third photo comes from the instagram of Ali al Rais and is dated to 1974. The fourth comes from Bader Alshaiji. A map from a Meed practical guide for Kuwait, published in 1985, shows the location of the hotel as being next to Sadu House & Bait al Badr–on the map, Golden Beach is #43, the National Museum #113, and Sadu House #87. It seems that the hotel was demolished to make way for the National Museum, but that demolition was earlier than 1985–in the final photo, dated to 1980, you can see that the Golden Beach is gone.

The Hilton

Opened in 1968 in Bneid al Gar, an extension was built in 1984. In the early 90s, it was renamed Safir International Hotel. According to Mark at 248, in 2003, the main section of the building was demolished, but the extension continued to operate until 2019 when that closed. The first photo below was taken by Ian Caldwell’s family in the 1970s, shared by Mark at 248. The other old photos, postcards, matchbooks, and stamps below were found either on delcampe or ebay.

Here are some images from a brochure listed for sale on eBay, apparently from the inauguration of the Hilton in February of 1969.

Messilah Beach Hotel

Opened in 1974, the postcard below was found on eBay and is dated to around 1977. According to their website, “built on the spot of the original Messilah Hotel, which opened in 1974, this hotel lives up to the historical value of the place. Designed with various aspects of Arabic architecture to reflect the heritage of the area, this hotel also lives up to its name, which means a low-lying area where waters merge before flowing into sea, and has water flowing throughout as streams, channels and fountains.”

Le Méridien Kuwait

Opened in 1980 along Fahad Al Salem and across the street from Al-Muthanna Complex, which was built over an old school beginning in 1979. The postcards were found on eBay and delcampe. I took the last two photos in 2020, before the hotel was renovated.

Radisson Blu

According to this website, in 1980, “the Kuwait SAS Hotel opened its doors. Peacock Chinese Restaurant that opened in 1983. The magnificent Al Hashemi II is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest wooden dhow ever built. It opened in 2000 to widespread acclaim.”

Holiday Inn

According to this website, the Holiday Inn was built in 1982.

Salmiya Palace Hotel

The Palace Hotel in Salmiya was designed by Saleh Al-Mutawa, a Kuwaiti architect, in the 1990s. In the article “In Search for a Local Image in the Arab City,” Omar Khattab writes that it was Al-Mutawa’s “dream to revive the traditional architecture of Kuwait.” Khattab continues, “Al Mutawa’s architecture conveys this lost local image… the essence and merits behind his work deserve to be studied before one embarks on a design that needs to reflect a local, yet contemporary, image of Kuwait architecture… others criticize his work as pastiche and stereotyped decoration of traditional forms.” The book Kuwait: Enchantment of the World includes an image of the hotel under construction, which you can see below. There is also the cover of History of Architecture in Old Kuwait City, written by Saleh Al-Mutawa in 1994.

In 1997, Godfrey Goodwin published New Vision in Kuwait about al-Mutawa’s work. Goodwin writes, “born into a traditional home in the district of old Kuwait, Saleh al-Mutawa bore witness during his early life to the architectural changes which swept away many of the older buildings in the city. These are replaced with alien styles of building imported from overseas which took nothing from Kuwait’s past.” Some other works by Saleh Al-Mutawa include a shopping mall in Al-Mubarakiya and apartment blocks in Salwa and Jabria, which you can see below.

Others include the Universal Hotel, the photo of which was posted on Algharabally Archive. They write that it was front of the Abdul Razzaq Gate.

Tourist Books about Kuwait or the region more generally

According to this article by Mahmoud Zakaria, “the book Im Auto nach Koweit (By Car to Kuwait) by Austrian traveler and engineer Max Reisch stands as a valuable scholarly record of Kuwait’s history. The Austrian explorer visited Kuwait in 1952 in his small van, capturing photographs as he entered through the city wall. Reisch offered vivid and detailed observations of Kuwait, praising its openness, development and hospitality. Reisch poetically described Kuwait as ‘a blossoming flower in a sea of Arabian sands’.”

Below are some vintage books seen on abebooks for tourists in Kuwait or the Arab world more generally.

1960s: “Motoring in the Middle East”, which gives the address for hotels in the country at the time

1968: A Tourist Guide to the Arab World

1968: Kuwait Tourist Guide, Published by Ministry of Guidance and Tourism

1970s: Arab Tourism Encyclopedia 1973-1974, which includes a lovely hand drawn map on which you can see Failaka Island

1971: Businessman’s Guide to the Arabian Gulf States

1975: Welcome to Kuwait pamphlet, which gives information about several hotels at the time

1975: British Airways Travel Booklet

1976: Nagel’s Encyclopedia: The Gulf Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates

1978: Gulf Guide and Diary, published by Middle East Review

1981: Radio Kuwait

1985: A MEED Practical Guide