Ryall’s Hotel was located in Blanytre. The hotel was established by Louisa Ryall. Ryall, whose husband worked for the Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve as builder and contractor, responded to an advertisement appearing in the Nyasaland Times in 1919 requesting the need for hotel accommodation in Nyasaland. Louisa had already established the Limbe Hotel in 1914.
Ryall converted one of the buildings that used to be a concentration camp during the First World War as the first premise for a hotel in Blantyre. The building later became Nash’s Hotel, a family business owned by Mr Nash.
After the death of her husband, Francis Ryall, she married the manager of the Limbe Hotel, John Stratton. They built a new establishment, Ryall’s Blantyre Hotel, which opened in 1922.
References
- Accommodation services for competitive tourism in Sub-Saharan Africa: Historical evidence from Malawi – Alice Magombo, Christian M Rogerson, Jayne M Rogerson
- marriott.com
- Rhodesian Study Circle