South Africa Travel Guide
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This Week in Hotel Lust: White Picket Fences at Cape Town's Mount Nelson
This week, a combination of wanderlust and hotel lust led us to research the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa, which a roving HotelChatter correspondent briefly had the chance to visit last year. We deemed Mount Nelson worth a second look from afar, because of the consistent buzz it garners for its exaggerated sense of luxury. Then again, if it weren't exaggerated it wouldn't be lust-worthy, would it?
Fat cats who travel to areas of the world deemed "exotic" aren't usually in the game of roughing it. Maybe they've come for a safari, but they better be welcomed home at the end of the day by plush linens at the very least.
No need to worry about that at Mount Nelson, where Garden Cottages located away from the main hotel building offer grown-up Richie/Regina Riches their very own white picket fence, rose garden, marble bathrooms, and use of an adults-only pool. Socialite's kids can be notoriously snotty, so this division of property is welcomed by singles and child-free couples alike. The price of privacy: approximately $1,478 per night, according to listed rates and our currency conversion.
Tags: South Africa Hotels / Hotel Renovations / Hotel Reopenings / → All Tags
Durban's Oyster Box Hotel Opens Again, Better Than Ever
We've been waiting for the big renovation of Durban's iconic Oyster Box Hotel to get finished up in South Africa – and now the wait is over. Last week the new Oyster Box was unveiled with an 800-guest party including all the local celebrities, with at least one prince and one king along for the fun.
The Oyster Box is often described as an "architectural treasure" of Durban, so the new owners (the Red Carnation group) have been careful to leave all the good historic bits of the place intact. That includes murals, paintings and antique furnishings, and to complement all that they use natural timber and stone features in a lot of the décor – and the result looks pretty impressive.
Tags: Missoni Hotels / Hotel Hype / Cape Town Hotels / Fashion Hotels / Rezidor Hotels / → All Tags
Hotel Missoni Goes For South Africa Next
Hotel Missoni wastes no time. On the crest of the wave of hype surrounding the very first Missoni Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland (it opened yesterday!), Rezidor Hotels has just announced that Missoni will bring its mutilcolored, dreamy lodging designs to Cape Town, South Africa in 2010.
Hotel Missoni Edinburgh opened its doors amidst a technicolored flurry of publicity, and as we wait on Missoni's second lodging outpost to open its doors next in Kuwait this fall followed by an Oman location later on, we've apparently got a fourth location to look forward to. The 157-room Hotel Missoni Cape Town will be, supposedly, opening "just in time" for the FIFA World Cup in 2010 "in the heart" of Cape Town — complete with a Missoni Cucina restaurant, a bar, a spa and a rooftop terrace "with a cantilevered swimming pool and views of Table Mountain."
No word on when the Missoni brand is planning on crossing over into the ol' US of A, but we're going to go ahead and assume it won't be for a good long while if Rezidor's got its eyes fixed on spots like Edinburgh, Kuwait and Cape Town — but we'll keep you posted; you can always somehow procure yourself one of those fly kilty-apron things and wear it around your house to achieve a similar effect.
Tags: Hotel Openings / Radisson SAS Hotels / Radisson Blu Hotels / South Africa Hotels / Johannesburg Hotels / → All Tags
Johannesburg Not Blue About Getting a Radisson Blu
Complete with the sassy new Radisson Blu branding, the former Radisson SAS chain has a new hotel in South Africa. The Radisson Blu Hotel Sandton has just opened in Johannesburg and it sounds cool enough to go with the "Blu" title.
Big flat-screen LCD TVs for all, complimentary WiFi for all, and a big wine bar and lounge, this hotel sounds great except for one not-so-cool (well, to us) feature. As part of its ONEwellness Spa and fitness center, it's got this:
an indoor/outdoor jogging course that snakes in and out of the hotel’s public areas.
So they want us to jog, sweaty and puffy, through public areas of the hotel? The hotel designers obviously have a lot more self-confidence in their jogging styles than we do.
Right now rooms are going for 1600 Rand ($180) for a standard room and from 2450 Rand ($270) for a one-room suite including breakfast. Public exposure to your jogging is included for free.
Tags: Hotel Openings / One and Only Hotels / Mariah Carey / Cape Town Hotels / Celebrity Scoop / → All Tags
Mariah Carey Performs for Nelson Mandela at One & Only Cape Town Opening
One & Only Resort has opened and despite the worldwide economic troubles, the luxury resort has decided to open with a serious bang--having Mariah Carey perform for Nelson Mandela at a private luncheon hosted today. Except that private luncheon including about 350 rich and famous folks. The official press release says:
Sol Kerzner (One and Only owner) introduced his 350 guests including: Mariah Carey, Thandie Newton, Marisa Tomei, Morgan Freeman, Sharon Stone, Robert DeNiro, Clint Eastwood and Matt Damon to the resort’s world renowned chefs, Gordon Ramsay and Nobu Matsuhisa.
The master ensemble of global musicians including Clint Eastwood’s son Kyle Eastwood on bass, legendary Dave Koz on saxophone; Jonathan Butler on guitar; the magnificent Patti Austin on vocals; Maceo Parker, formerly James Brown’s saxophone player, on sax; 6-year-old Cape Town percussion prodigy Daniel Peterson on drums and the amazing Hugh Masekela on Flugle & Trumpet performed an array of hits including “Fire & Rain,” “I’ll Take You There,” “Let’s Stay Together” and many more.
Naturally, a One & Only resort that opens with this much fanfare does not come cheap and we hardly expect room rates to be dropping anytime soon. Marina rooms begin at $540 a night and junior suites on one of the resort's two private harbour islands, begin at $1,770 a night.
Tags: Hotel Openings / One and Only Resorts / Hotel News / Hotel Opening Rates / → All Tags
Bring the Kids to the Opening of One & Only Cape Town
Long a favorite of the rich and famous, the One & Only Resort chain seems to only build properties in the most drool-worthy of locations, yet adding nightly prices to make your throat go dry. The newest addition to their fancy flock is the One & Only Cape Town, due to open on April 3 and boasting such frills as an island yoga pavilion and restaurants from star chefs Gordon Ramsay and Nobu's Nobuyuki Matsuhisa.
Tags: Hotel Design / Inclusive Design / Wheelchair Accessible Hotels / South Africa Hotels / → All Tags
Inclusive Design: Makaranga Lodge Leads the Way
There’s a new wave trend in the hotel world. It’s quite a small wave currently – more of a ripple in the distance – but it’s set to become a veritable tsunami.
It’s called Inclusive Design, and its pioneers are those who believe hotels should welcome all guests equally, regardless of any disability they might have.
Inclusive Design – or Universal Design – is an ocean apart from the wave of "design hotels" that appear on the scene of any tourist mecca. Their "design" stops short at pretty colours and shiny gadgets. How many of you have shelled out a lot of cash to stay in a design hotel, then found that you can’t reach the plug sockets, that you can’t find the switches for the funny luminescent lights, that the shiny bathroom gets a soaking from the shower’s hydromassage jets or that you can’t attract the staff’s attention away from the mirror for long enough to book a taxi?
No, Inclusive Design aims to please everybody.
Tags: Hotel Openings / Cape Town Hotels / One and Only Resorts / Gordon Ramsay / Nobu / → All Tags
One & Only Cape Town To Open April 4th
Lovers of One & Only Resorts (mainly the famous and the wealthy) will be thrilled to know that the resort group's newest location is opening April 4th in Cape Town, South Africa.
One & Only Cape Town is described as a "urban chic waterfront resort" in the heart of Victoria & Alfred Waterfront which will have killer views of Table Mountain and Signal Hill. The crescent-shaped, seven-storey Marina Rise building will house but more accommodations and the One & Only Spa can be found on two private islands in the middle of the waterway.
Generous interior spaces are adorned with fabrics and furnishings recalling the warm, muted tones of Africa’s savannahs, with bright splashes of colour paying tribute to the land’s vibrant personality.
All rooms and suites are indulged by the discreet yet attentive services of a dedicated butler, 24-hours a day. Sumptuously appointed oversized baths are complete with rain shower, private water closet and dual vanity.
Those marina rooms are also being touted as the largest hotel rooms in Cape Town. Even better? Each room has "expansive glass doors that lead onto private balconies" for maximum killer view appreciation.
Tags: Reader Reviews / Safari Hotels / South Africa Hotels / → All Tags
Inside the Marataba Hotel in South Africa
Every so often we feature a hotel review from one of our readers that we feel should be shared with the rest of you dear hotel guests. These reviews are highlighted because they are timely, about cool hotels in cool places and are relatively level-headed. Think you can submit one just like this? Send it in. Today we have a totally awesome review from a Friend of HotelChatter about one of those exotic safari hotels in South Africa. We also love our friend and her review because she gave us so many pretty pictures to look at. Enjoy.
We went on safari at the Marataba Hotel which I definitely recommend over the Krueger National Park hotels since it is a private game reserve and there are NO other groups or tours allowed on the property.
We could see elephants and giraffes from our room and warthogs hung out by the pool. At night, we had to be escorted to our tents so lions didn't attack us as the place is not fenced in.
The food is amazing, everything is scheduled perfectly and the staff is awesome.
Tags: South Africa Hotels / Hotel Renovations / → All Tags
Raw or Rockefeller, Durban's Oyster Box Will Pair Well with Champagne
South Africa is soon to have a new address for luxe, lust and haute cuisine curry when the Oyster Box reopens in mid 2009.
The 87-room Durban digs with the aphrodisiac-inspired name was recently snapped up by U.K.-based Red Carnation Hotels, which has closed the hotel to update its colonial look. The makeover is set to include a mode facelift that will meld technological must-haves like high-speed WiFi, flat-screen, satellite TVs and CD and DVD players in guest rooms with a mélange of the Oyster Box's original artwork and new, more contemporary pieces the continued tradition of fresh oysters at the hotel's Lighthouse Bar (the hotel has its own lighthouse, of which it's the official warden).
Tags: South Africa Hotels / Johannesburg Hotels / Facebook Hotels / Twitter / Skype Hotels / → All Tags
Facebooking & Twittering :: The Peech Hotel in Jo'Burg
The Peech Hotel in Johannesburg seems to be going for all the angles. It's a boutique hotel, it's proudly eco-friendly, and it's a loud, proud member of all the biggest social networking sites. How much cooler could you get?
For a start, they've got their own Facebook page and for once, it doesn't look like the only fans are staff, because they've got (a few) fans from across the world. It's early days but they're doing all the normal Facebook stuff like adding photos and events; someone's started a discussion but we're hoping to see more.
The Peech also started Twittering a few weeks ago, giving a few updates on events and advertising links to special rates. And on top of all that, they offer a link on their website to call them by Skype rather than use actual money, so we like that too.
Of course, one day every hotel under the sun will be on Facebook and Twitter, but The Peech is one of the pioneers out there. Now we have to ask: Does this make you want to book a room there?
[Photo: The Peech Hotel on Facebook]
Tags: Stellenbosch Hotels / Cape Town Hotels / South Africa Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / Monica Guy / → All Tags
The Cape Town Hotel Scene :: Wining and Dining at d'Ouwe Werf, Stellenbosch
Our roving correspondent Monica Guy has recently blessed the rains down in Africa--South Africa--and is giving us the scoop this week on the Cape Town hotel scene. Have a question or a suggestion? Let us know and we'll do our best to answer it. Enjoy.
Anyone visiting Cape Town would be mad to stay just in the city itself, cool as it is. Most travellers find at least a couple of days to explore the Winelands - the areas where South Africa's excellent, light-drinking wine is produced.
The closest areas to Cape Town are Stellenbosch and Constantia, and you can hire a car to drive round the various wine farms tasting different wines and eating until you can eat no more.
We're not sure of the rules on drink-driving in South Africa, but either way, if you want to do this properly you're best off staying in Stellenbosch itself. And for that, we recommend the 4-star d'Ouwe Werf, which claims to be South Africa's oldest hotel.
True or not, it feels like it is - a beautiful white colonial-style house with antique chairs and tables, old-style décor, and shady terraces and gardens where you can eat and drink to your heart's content with the mountains in the background.
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