A brief look at this week's hotel news
Mpumalanga hotel undergoes revamp
MALAGA Hotel on the banks of the Elands River in Mpumalanga,
has recently undergone refurbishments and will be rebranded as a
Protea Hotel in March. The three-star hotel is one of six properties
leased and managed by the Boulevard Group and is ideal for
families as a stopover en-route to the Kruger National Park or
Mozambique. It is also convenient for business travellers as it is
close to Nelspruit. All 52 rooms have private balconies with garden
and mountain views. There are three conference rooms and a
restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating and a menu featuring
farm-fresh country fare and organic home-grown vegetables. The
hotel is a popular venue for country weddings.
City Lodge Waterfall to open in December
CONSTRUCTION at the City Lodge Hotel Waterfall City is on track
for the first phase of room openings in mid-December. The 149-
room hotel will soon be handed over to City Lodge Hotels for the
furniture and fittings to be installed. The hotel is expected to open
its first rooms during the festive season with the rest coming early
in 2015. Situated in Waterfall City, Midrand, close to the Allandale
off-ramp from the N1 highway between Johannesburg and Pretoria,
City Lodge Waterfall City will be the 16th City Lodge-branded hotel
in the group, taking the portfolio to 55 hotels in South Africa, Kenya
and Botswana. This is the first City Lodge that has been developed
with a choice between rooms with baths and showers and rooms
with showers only. Seventy-two rooms (three dedicated for
disabled guests) have the shower-only option, in line with growing
international trends.
Blue View opens new luxury apartments
THE Blue View Collection opened its newest self-catering
apartments, South Beach Camps Bay, in Cape Town, last month. The
five-star property offers nine sea-facing one-bedroom apartments
and is within walking distance of all the restaurants and bars on the
main Camps Bay strip.
eLan buys another hotel in Mozambique
ELAN Property Group has purchased Hotel Phaphalati, a newly
developed resort on an eight-hectare site in Ponta Malongane,
13km from Ponta do Ouro in Mozambique. Hotel Phaphalati
features 54 rooms and self-catering units, as well as conferencing
for up to 100 delegates. All double rooms are en-suite with airconditioning.
The forest chalets accommodate two adults and two
children in each unit, with a queen-size bed in one room and bunk
beds in the other. There is a toilet and bathroom, lounge, plasma
TV, fully equipped kitchen and a veranda with a gas braai. The lodge
has a lounge and large pool deck with views over the ocean, a bar
and a dining room offering lunch and dinner.
Renovated lodge reopens in Botswana
TULI Safari Lodge, situated between the Northern Tuli Game
Reserve and the Limpopo River in Botswana, has reopened after
refurbishments. The property’s 11 suites have an open-plan design
and ‘Out of Africa’-themed décor. Eight of the suites are tented,
with draped canvas over timber frames and wrap-around decks. The
remaining three suites have shaded verandas and air-conditioning.
All the suites can be made up as doubles or twins and two children
can also be accommodated if required. Safari activities include
guided game drives, bush walks, night drives, half-day horseback
safaris and community visits.
Namibian lodge expands, gets a makeover
ETOSHA Aoba Lodge in the Onguma Game Reserve, adjacent to
Etosha National Park, Namibia, now offers 11 rooms along the dry
Omuramba Owambo riverbed. The rooms include four free-standing
Heritage bungalows with air-conditioning; three Bush suites,
accommodating four adults in two rooms with an inter-leading
bathroom; three new Explorer bungalows; and a Honeymoon
bungalow, which is secluded and offers a double hammock in
the trees and an outdoor shower and bath. Facilities at the lodge
include a swimming pool, thatched bar, lounge and a dining area
that overlooks a small active waterhole. Free WiFi is available
to guests.
