maDe over
Tsogo Sun’s Southern Sun Maputo, now the largest hotel in the Mozambican
capital, has re-opened after a four-month hiatus during which the hotel went
through a US$30 million expansion and makeover that has added significant
appeal, interest and comfort for business and leisure guests.
T
his major investment by Tsogo Sun is in line with Mozambique’s robust real GDP growth of 7%
in 2013, despite the floods in the country last year. The progressive increase in coal production
and the implementation of large infrastructure projects, coupled with budgetary expansion, are
expected to continue to drive growth in Mozambique, projected at 8.5% in 2014 and 8.2% in 2015,
according to the African Economic Outlook website.
“It makes sense to embrace the opportunities and invest in Mozambique, with its growing economy
and its attractiveness to South Africans as well as international travellers,” says Richard Weilers,
COO of Tsogo Sun hotels. “Southern Sun Maputo has benefitted from a strong trading performance
and we believe this expansion and refurbishment programme, together with its location as the only
Maputo hotel on the beach, will cement it as the destination hotel of choice in the city.” Travelling to Maputo
is increasingly easy for South Africans as flights from Johannesburg and Durban are regular and take about an
hour.
Southern Sun Maputo’s extensive renovations included the addition of 111 rooms and conference facilities,
refurbishing of the existing 158 rooms and public areas, and expanding the restaurant, lobby, and back-of-house
facilities.
In addition, the investment included importing a special beach cleaning machine from Connecticut in America,
which cleans the beach every day, ensuring that it’s pristine for the hotel guests at all times. “We’re not just
taking ownership of the hotel, but of the beach as well, which we believe falls under our care,” says Weilers. “We
obtained authorisation from the authorities, who were very supportive of our environmentally-aware efforts.”
Weilers describes the essence of the ‘new’ Southern Sun Maputo brand as ‘surprising’, with spaces, beautiful
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africandesignmagazine.com