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FIFA to Ref South Africa's Hotel Prices in 2010

As you may or may not remember, we were a little gung-ho about the World Cup this past summer.

But apparently, that's nothing compared to the fans who are anxious to book their hotel rooms in South Africa, the host of the 2010 World Cup. The hotels there were hoping to start charging a fortune for hotel rooms during games until FIFA decided to step in:

Hotel groups and guesthouses contracted by Fifa would have to charge a fixed rate for different grades of accommodation during the 2010 World Cup, the soccer governing body's accommodation and ticketing arm told hoteliers in Cape Town on Thursday night. This did not go down well with some local hotel owners.

The fixed rates should be released soon and from there you can determine how much you wanna spend to see your team of choice. But if you are already counting down the days until 2010, then you probably have your budget figured out already too.

Image of the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg via South Africa World Cup 2010

Related Stories:
· Fifa wants low season hotel rates for 2010 [IOL]

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Shark Attack in Your Extreme Hotel Bathroom

Where: Capetown, South Africa

When hearing that the world's first hotel specifically geared toward extreme sport enthusiasts, one has to wonder if it's underwater near Dubai, on the edge of a cliff in the Outback, or maybe in the Space Station. But no it's in Cape Town and that's fitting too because aren't their waters riddled with great whites?

However, The Extreme Hotel is more about virtual extreme sports and illusions than it really is about real-life extreme sports (aside from the climbing wall located on its exterior):

The hotel's swimming pool has been designed to look like an aquarium from the restaurant. The water comes right up to the 30 mm thick glass windows of the restaurant, giving diners an underwater view of swimmers. The men's urinals appear to be suspended on scaffolding at the edge of the building while the entering the lift feels like being in a shark cage thanks to floor to ceiling life-size photography.

Nothing was said in regard to the women's bathroom but we're a little scared that there may be a fake mini-alligator inside the toilet or something. Either way, this place is full of surprises to uncover. It was developed by Al Gosling the founder of the Extreme Sports Channel. Plans are underway to add more in equally cool and extreme locations, first targeting ski and surf areas and then possibly expanding. What's best, they aim to provide 5-star quality with 3-star prices and they've already won us with free WiFi.

Now, can you say...Mancation?

Related Stories:
· Hotels for Adrenalin Freaks [Times Online]

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The Mount Nelson Hotel's Got Worms...in a Good Way

Where: 76 Orange Street, Capetown, South Africa, 8001

We all know that hotels create a lot of waste and it's probably something that we'd rather not think about. If we do think about it, then we can choose to stay in eco-hotels and try not to fill the garbage bin in our room every day.

But the Mount Nelson Hotel in Capetown has another method, one that may leave guests feeling a little uneasy: worms. The hotel has an "army" of worms, a million of them ready to break down the hotel's organic waste and gives it back to the earth. This apparently means less fertilizer and chemicals and more compost to create their exquisite gardens.

The hotel's resident worm farmer (here's a title we never thought we'd see) explained to the Seattle Times:

The hotel industry produces a lot of food waste...We're trying to deal with our problem and not pass it along to the next person. We're trying to do our little bit for nature.

My personal opinion: The more people who get involved in this, the better it will be for the whole world. It eliminates a substance, methane gas, which is damaging to the environment. It's helping the ozone.

Now as long as they can keep these worms where they should be, we'll totally support this happy Ozone, Earthy, Worm project.

(We couldn't handle real worms early this morning so this picture of jelly worms comes via Gotta_luv_Green/Flickr)

Related Stories:
· Hotel worms its way out of pile of waste [Seattle Times]
· Mount Nelson Hotel Reviews [TripAdvisor]