The Sunday News
Wilson Dakwa, Business Reporter
ONE of Zimbabwe’s largest hotel groups, Cresta Hotels has completed the refurbishment of its Cresta Churchill Hotel in Bulawayo in an effort to offer stylish and modern accommodation.
The refurbishment of the hotel’s 50 bedrooms and suites included the introduction of an electronic meal ticketing system which is a first in the industry, replacing old carpets, refitting of bathrooms, installation of electronic keys, new bedroom tiles, international plug points, USB chargers as well as repainting.
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the new rooms and suites on Friday evening, Cresta Hotel’s country director Ms Chipo Mandela said the hotel group will also refurbish its other hotels across the country this year.
“We are proud to re-launch the wholly-refurbished bedroom and suite blocks. The refurbishment exercise has taken more than a year to complete at a cost of $700 000.
“We are also doing refurbishments at Cresta Oasis of about $2 million and we hope to launch that product to the market in the second quarter of this year. There is also work happening at Cresta Jameson and we hope to be done in time for its 68th anniversary in October. Jameson is still a work in progress and it’s a bit early for us to disclose the amount we will invest in the property,” said Ms Mandela.
Cresta Hotels is undertaking a drive to attract more conference business to the hotels and encourage greater use of its popular restaurants.
Cresta Hotels operates four hotels in Zimbabwe, 13 in Botswana and one in Zambia.
Ms Mandela said Cresta Hotels is eyeing various opportunities within Zimbabwe and abroad. She could not be drawn to disclose the projects, saying they are still in their infancy.
Cresta Churchill’s refurbishment comes at a time when the hospitality industry has registered a three percent performance growth in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the previous year as a result of increased arrivals on the back of renewed confidence in the country.@WilsonDakwa1
