THE Arniston Hotel in the Western Cape will soon be open to a broader spectrum of people as the new owners have indicated that they want to move away from exclusivity and focus on attracting the three-star market.
The consortium of four business people from Botswana took over the hotel from well-known Cape businessman, Ian Mactintosh on January 10 with the final aspects of the sale going through in mid-April this year.
The hotel's major shareholder and general manager, Guy Johnson, recently sold his Marang Hotel in Francistown, Botswana to the Cresta Marikanelo Group and decided to invest in South Africa, together with partners, Alan Smith, Anthony Johnson and Roz Richards.
The other three partners still live in Botswana.
"We want to consolidate operations by adapting some of our infrastructure for conference facilities, incorporating special winter rates and certainly going out of our way to exceed guests' expectations of our hotel," he says.
(Adele Mackenzie)
