It served as the nation's first international luxury hotel, one of the most visited by foreigners since its opening in 1969, built nearby the Bagh-e Bala Palace.

It was developed by the InterContinental Hotels division of Pan Am and built by UK-based Taylor Woodrow construction.

During the 1990s civil war it began receiving damage due to street warfare by militia men.

[4] It was extensively used by Western journalists during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 as it was the only large-sized hotel still operating in the capital at the time.

The rooms are decorated according to international standard, equipped with air conditioner, heater, TV, mini-bar, phone and radio.

The telephone system is still operated by its original old manual switchboard, which was manufactured by Siemens.