Victoria Falls Safari Lodge opens new suites
THE Victoria Falls Safari Lodge in Zimbabwe has opened six new
luxury safari suites. The Victoria Falls Safari Suites are situated
four kilometres from the Falls and offer guests a choice of threeand
two-bedroom suites. Each suite has a lounge, veranda area
and upstairs room, offering views over the bushveld. The suites
are ideal for families and small groups. The property is adjacent
to the Zambezi National Park where sightings include bush buck,
warthog, African elephant and buffalo.
Centara expands in Thailand
CENTARA Hotels & Resorts is expanding its presence in Krabi,
Thailand. The group has signed management contracts for three
new properties. Centara Pelican Bay Residence & Suites Krabi,
due to open in the middle of this year, will have 92 residential
units, a restaurant, swimming pool, business corner and a beach
club. Centara Pelican Bay Resort & Spa Krabi, and Centara
Pelican Bay Villas Krabi are scheduled to open in the first
quarter of 2017. The three resorts will all be built within the
same development in Klong Muang.
“Krabi has emerged as a prime tourist destination in recent
years and has enormous potential for the future,” says
Thirayuth Chirathivat, ceo of Centara Hotels & Resorts. The
group’s first development in the area was the Centara Grand
Beach Resort & Villas Krabi in 2006. Centara Anda Dhevi Resort
& Spa Krabi followed in 2012. Chris Bailey, the company’s
senior vp for sales and marketing says: “The three resorts offer
three different holiday styles within an area of outstanding
natural beauty,” adding that the new properties will further help
develop tourism to the region.
Fregate Island Private Rock Spa reopens
FREGATE Island Private in Seychelles has refurbished its Rock
Spa as part of a renovation project, for which a budget of
€4,5 million (R65 million) has been earmarked. The project
includes redecoration of the island’s tennis courts and upgrades
to the hotel. “I have seen the work in progress and appreciate
that the owning company is reinvesting in its property,” said
Minister Alain St.Ange. “We welcome the approach by Oetker
Collection to upgrade the property.”
Three Cities Riverside refurb continues
PHASE 2 of the multimillion-rand refurb at Durban’s Three Cities
Riverside Hotel & Spa has started. Phase 1, in July and August
last year, covered the upgrade of the public areas and front
entrance of the hotel. Phase 2 will focus on 28 rooms on the
upper floor of the east side of the hotel. The refurb will conclude
a week before the Easter weekend. During the upgrade, the
affected wing will be cordoned off and access to rooms will be
restricted. There will be minimal disruption to guests, and work
will only take place during standard office hours which will not
affect normal arrival and departure times. A generator will also
be installed in the east parking area at the same time.
Africa Rose introduces mobile eco camp
AFRICA Rose Travel will launch Kuro camp in Tarangire, Tanzania,
in June. Like the other northern Tanzania Nomad properties, the
camp is in touch with nature and has been created to leave the
lightest footprint. At the end of each season the camp moves,
leaving only the trees and birds and animals, as if it had never
been there.
The camp has six light and stylish safari tents complete with
beds, en-suite bucket showers and flushing eco-toilets. Guests
gather to share meals and relax under the grass thatch of an
open-sided lounge and dining area, which is furnished with
hides and canvas. The camp’s location offers guests close
access to the Silale Swamp area, which attracts lots of elephant.
The camp is set amid a grove of acacia and kigelia trees on the
Tarangire River, a corridor for wildlife moving through the park,
offering guests the chance of sighting large herds of buffalo and
elephant, numbering in the hundreds. The birdlife in Tarangire
includes 550 recorded species and the largest number of
breeding species anywhere in the world.
