The Marriott Hotel was an oasis of calm for diplomats and politicians in Pakistan's capital, but its status as a symbol of Western capitalism made it a repeated target for Islamic militants.
The heavily-guarded hotel, just hundreds of metres (yards) from parliament and the presidency, was left a smoking ruin after a huge suicide truck bombing at the gates of the building on Saturday killed at least 53 people.
Marriott outlets have been hit by extremist violence before -- a suicide bombing at the JW Marriott in Jakarta in 2003 killing 12 people -- but the Islamabad attack was the deadliest yet on the US-based chain.