The hotel Oloffson, stands proudly and is the epitome of the typical Haitian gingerbread architecture. It was built in the late 19th century as a private home.

The property owned by the Sam family who had a lineage of Haitian presidents.  Tirésias Simon-Sam was president of Haiti from 1896 to 1902 and the mansion was built by Tirésias's son, Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam. The Sams lived in the mansion until 1915, when Guillaume himself became president but only for five months until he was torn to pieces by an angry mob.

The US under the command of President Woodrow would eventually take control of the hotel and turn it into a US military hospital.

In 1935, after the US occupation, the mansion was leased to Walter Gustav Oloffson, a Swedish sea captain from Germany, who converted the property into a hotel. In 1950, Roger Coster, a French photographer, assumed the lease on the hotel and ran it with his Haitian wife.

The hotel came to be known as the "Greenwich Village of the Tropics", attracting actors, writers, and artists.

In 1960, Al Seitz acquired the lease of the hotel and the hotel prospered. Celebrities such as Jackie Onassis and Mick Jagger were regular guests. After Al Seitz died in 1982, his widow,  continued to operate it.

As the grip of Duvalierism overcame Haiti, the foreign tourist trade ceased. The hotel survived by serving foreign reporters and foreign aid workers who needed secure lodging in the center of town.

In 1987, with the help of his half-brother Jean Max Sam, Richard A. Morse signed a 15 year lease to manage the Hotel Oloffson, which was in disrepair during the reign of  Duvalierism.

As part of the regeneration of the hotel, every Thursday evening a local Haitian band called RAM (Richard A. Morse's initials) would perform. It soon became a regular social event, even during the political upheaval of Haiti in the 1990's. It attracts individuals of various political positions and allegiances.