Overview:
The violent arson that destroyed the iconic Hôtel Oloffson leaves Haiti’s LGBTQ+ community without a rare refuge. For decades, this Port-au-Prince landmark served as a sanctuary for inclusion, creativity and a sense of belonging amid widespread discrimination—supporting some of the country’s high levels of intolerance.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — The fire that reduced the famed Hotel Oloffson to ashes on July 6 destroyed more than just a historic structure — it erased a rare sanctuary for Haiti’s LGBTQ+ community.
Tucked at the corner of Rue Capois and Avenue Christophe, the Oloffson was one of the few places in Port-au-Prince where queer Haitians could exist freely and without fear. For decades, its ornate gingerbread façade shielded a space of safety, art and radical acceptance.
“The Oloffson was never just a hotel. It was a sanctuary for me,” said Georges Casimir, a visual artist and human rights activist, and a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ people in Haiti. “I found peace there among the artwork and birdsongs. It’s where I reconnected with my roots and felt whole again.”
Like Casimir, many defenders of LGBTQ+ rights saw in the Oloffson a haven in a city often plagued by hostility—Port-au-Prince.
“The Oloffson was never just a hotel. It was a sanctuary for me, a place where I would retreat when everything felt too heavy. I found peace there among the artwork and the birdsongs.”
Georges Casimir, Visual artist, human rights activist and LGBTQ+ advocate
In a country where LGBTQ+ individuals often face stigma, exclusion and violence, the Oloffson provided rare relief. There, gender expression and same-sex affection weren’t policed. Thursday nights, usually filled with Vodou rhythms from the band RAM led by the hotel’s owner Richard Morse and his wife Lunise, turned the courtyard into a vibrant celebration of life — open to all.
“Those Thursday nights were pure freedom,” Casimir said in an exclusive interview with The Haitian Times. “No one judged you. The Oloffson loved us, and we loved it right back.”
The hotel’s Gédé Festival or Fèt Gede in Creole, rooted in Vodou traditions honoring the spirits of the dead around Nov. 1-2, was one of its most iconic events. This used to be a vivid, inclusive celebration where fluid identity and joyful rebellion thrived.
To many of the hotel’s guests, it felt like a living theater of Haitian and international cultures, blending beliefs, backgrounds and generations.
Through crises, it stood strong, but now it’s a cultural and historical loss
Even amid political unrest, devastating hurricanes, earthquakes and economic decline, the Oloffson kept its doors open — literally and figuratively.
When Port-au-Prince was in ruins after being hit by the 2010 earthquake, Hotel Oloffson stood tall—driven by its commitment to service and humanity.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when the hotel officially shut down, management posted a message on X that captured its spirit to this day.
“If you’re hungry, thirsty or need a home away from home, give us a call and we’ll open the gate for you.”
It was more than hospitality — it was a lifeline, especially for queer people who had nowhere else to turn, particularly in a moment of crisis like COVID-19.
The Oloffson’s destruction comes amid ongoing armed violence in Port-au-Prince, which has already displaced tens of thousands and shattered much of the capital’s infrastructure. Once considered a symbol of Haitian creativity and resilience, the Oloffson had become a casualty of this instability.
The iconic hotel is an incalculable loss not just to the Haitian LGBTQ+ community. Owned and operated by RAM founders Richard and Lunise Morse, the hotel served as a cultural and intellectual epicenter. Diplomats, artists, journalists, writers and activists passed through its halls — all drawn by its legacy as a meeting ground of minds and movements.
“The Hôtel Oloffson is officially closed, but we still keep a small staff on hand. So if you’re hungry, thirsty or need a home away from home, give us a call and we’ll open the gate for you.”
Hotel Oloffson Management in 2020, during COVID-19
In a Facebook statement, the Morses wrote:
“We never imagined this day would come. The place where we created so much of the music that shaped RAM is now gone. The Oloffson always stood strong — a symbol of hope through every storm.”
Actor Stéphane Axel Jean-Louis echoed the grief, saying: “This wasn’t just a hotel. It was a hundred years of history, laughter, struggle and tolerance.”
“A vital space in a country that gives us so few,” Jean-Louis, a human rights activist and friend of the Morses, added.
Because of the rising gang violence in Haiti, especially in Port-au-Prince—the capital—the hotel had not been a recommended place for some time, but it still maintained its legacy. Its walls were decorated with photos of Hollywood stars and cultural icons who once stayed there.
Originally built in 1887 as a family mansion for descendants of President Tirésias Simon Sam, the Oloffson became a hotel in 1935 under Swedish entrepreneur and Navy Captain Walter Gustav Oloffson, who bought the iconic building. Its signature towers and wraparound balconies made it one of Port-au-Prince’s architectural gems.
But for Haiti’s LGBTQ+ community, the building’s true value wasn’t in its design — it was in what it allowed. A place to gather. A place to dance. A place to breathe.
Now, all that remains is ash.
Still, many say the Oloffson’s spirit survives in the inclusive spaces it inspired.
“Every safe space we build today stands on the foundation Hotel Oloffson laid,” Casimir said. “Its body may be gone, but its soul is everywhere we dare to be ourselves.”