Julian’s hotel poised for major repairs after fire

Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 April 2026, 20:45 by Writer

Even as Guyana Fire Service (GFS) firefighters were probing the cause of an early Wednesday morning blaze that destroyed a house and damaged a next door hotel on Cummings Street, the hotelier said he was preparing to conduct major repairs to his building.

The fire destroyed a wooden house owned by well-known Guyanese bodybuilder, Hugh Ross, and spread to the 23-room four-storey Julian’s Restaurant, Bar and Guest House on Cummings and Sixth Street.

Hotelier, Julian McEwan told reporters that he intended to begin major repairs as soon as possible.

Most of the actual fire damage was confined to the middle flat where one room was destroyed and several others damaged slightly. Asked whether he intended to continue operations, he said, “Yes, this is my life! This is all I know now so I’m hoping that the insurance company works out something and let me get started and rebuild,” he said.

The concrete plaster of the outer concrete wall on the southern side flaked off.

There was signficant water damage to beds, ceilings and electrical wiring in a section of the structure.

He said he was not at the hotel but neighbours called and informed him about the fire at about 6:30 am.

Representatives of Hand-in-Hand insurance company were also at the scene to assess the damage to the hotel.

At the time of the blaze, there were eight guests, including a visiting Guyanese.

Mr McEwan said no one was hurt but some of their personal property was damaged by water.

He said all upcoming bookings, including those for Guyana’s 60th independence anniversary would be cancelled and guests referred to other hotels. “I have a lot of guests who are coming in so I have to call my booking agents and tell them I have to close my property for some time until I get back to normalcy so basically have to start relocating guests who have reservations,” he said.

Centrally located in Georgetown, Julian’s hotel, regarded as one Guyana’s more popular budget hotels, is popular among overseas visitors.

Mr McEwan praised firefighters for preventing the fire from engulfing his building. “Those guys did a fantastic job…The fire caught and was contained in one of my rooms. When they got here. The response was great. They saved the building because if they didn’t contain that room, the entire internal structure would have been destroyed. They did a fantastic job in saving my property,” he said.

No one was available at Mr Ross’ premises to speak with the media.

Earlier, several women were seen speaking with firefighters.

A clearly traumatised dog was seen among the rubble a short distance from its opened kennel.