The 116-year-old King Edward Hotel in Port Elizabeth is to get a new lease on life, according to PE property development company, Africorp International Properties (AIP), which has taken over as executive operator of the property and intends to revive and steer the historic hotel into a new golden era.
The hotel has been closed for several years and fallen victim to some degree of vandalism, but AIP says phased renovations are under way and some of the rooms and portions of the hotel have already been brought back to an operational state. Public areas, such as the planned restaurants, conference and exhibition facilities, and remaining rooms, will open during 2021.
Once operational, the King Edward will field 105 rooms, four conference venues, four lobbies and lounges, a coffee shop, and three restaurant facilities.
The company’s vision is for the hotel to become the heart and soul of the inner city once more. “It is a national monument and, frankly, we have no option but to make it work,” said Nadir Jeeva, ceo of AIP.
“This is important, since the King Edward is part of the Donkin Reserve and Route 67 heritage trail – an art and heritage walk through the heart of the oldest original areas of the city. Our commitment to ensure its commercial success will support and complement preservation efforts of both these public and heritage assets. It will also contribute to unlocking and bolstering the full tourism economy of the inner city once the world eases out of COVID and when the tourism industry returns to some semblance of normality. We are proud to be expanding in a sector that is currently severely constrained, and again reaffirms our commitment to the sector and the city,” said Nadir.
“In particular, we foresee that the King Edward Hotel will add immense value to the cruise ship industry, since visitors frequently opt in for heritage tours for one-day city excursions.”
He said he envisaged the hotel becoming a wedding and conference facility “of choice”, and that the hotel would have a fully halaal kitchen.
