A five-star sectional title beachfront hotel managed by an international group is on the cards for Nelson Mandela Bay, brainchild of a local developer.
The Reef on Marine is Auspex Property's Ben Nyaumwe's latest project, after the success of his residential developments, Brookes View and The Pearls.
The Reef will be the first five-star hotel in Port Elizabeth since the Elizabeth Hotel became a Holiday Inn in the early 1990s. It will be built on the corner of Ninth Avenue and Marine Drive in Summerstrand.
The rate per suite, which will run into thousands per night, will mean only the well-heeled will be able to afford to check in.
Although there are five-star rated guesthouses in Nelson Mandela Bay, The Reef will be the first full-service, deluxe hotel. The decision about which operator to appoint will be finalised by next April, but the Hilton Hotel Group is the leading contender to manage the 128-roomed establishment. Nyaumwe said 32 investors had already reserved units, which cost from R2-million for a luxury suite up to R2,85 million for the presidential suite. For this, owners will earn "on average 13 percent of their purchase price every quarter", pay no levies, rates or refurbishing costs and receive 28 days? free holiday each year at any affiliated hotel in the world.
Construction will begin in March, and the doors are scheduled to open on October 1, 2008.
The hotel will bring the Bay into line with World Cup Soccer specifications. "Fifa lays down that each host city must have a five-star hotel, which we do not have in Nelson Mandela Bay as yet," said Nyaumwe.
"So, Auspex Properties is building it, helping to keep the profits with local investors, and also boosting the benefits of tourism here."
Weekend Post
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge
