HotelChatter - Tag: South Africa Hotels

Durban: Durban's Oyster Box Hotel Opens Again, Better Than Ever

amandak — 2009-10-08T15:33:56-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Oyster_Box_Suite.jpg" class="top"> We've been waiting for the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/9/30/211647/179/hotels/Raw_or_Rockefeller_Durban_s_Oyster_Box_Will_Pair_Well_with_Champagne">big renovation</a> of Durban's iconic <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+Oyster+Box/local/1353">Oyster Box Hotel</a> 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

Johannesburg: Johannesburg Not Blue About Getting a Radisson Blu

amandak — 2009-04-20T09:11:41-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/3873/Radisson_Blu_Johannesburg.jpg" class="top"> Complete with the sassy new <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/2/4/1201/07199/hotels/Adventures_in_Rebranding_Radisson_SAS_is_Now_Radisson_Blu">Radisson Blu</a> branding, the former <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/radisson sas">Radisson SAS</a> 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:<blockquote>an indoor/outdoor jogging course that snakes in and out of the hotels public areas.</blockquote>So they want us to jog, sweaty and puffy, through public areas of the hotel? The hotel designers obviously have a

Kloof: Inclusive Design: Makaranga Lodge Leads the Way

femmefatale — 2009-02-11T16:46:03-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/Makaranga_room.jpg" class="top"> Theres a new wave trend in the hotel world. Its quite a small wave currently more of a ripple in the distance but its set to become a veritable tsunami. Its 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 cant reach the plug

Waterberg: Inside the Marataba Hotel in South Africa

juliana — 2008-11-19T16:09:05-05:00

<![CDATA[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? <a href="mailto:tips@hotelchatter.com">Send it in</a>. 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.<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/mataraba2.jpg" class="top">We went on safari at the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Marataba/ian/256501">Marataba Hotel</a> which I definitely recommend over the Krueger National Park hotels since

Raw or Rockefeller, Durban's Oyster Box Will Pair Well with Champagne

ChristineM — 2008-10-02T09:15:37-05:00

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).