Photo by: Duane Daws
Hotel group Tsogo Sun will build a new 500-bedroom hotel complex on the site of the recently demolished Tulip hotel, on the corner of Buitengracht and Strand streets, in the Cape Town central business district at a cost of R680-million.
“We believe the continued development and rejuvenation of Cape Town’s city centre will lead to growing demand for hotel accommodation,” Tsogo Sun CEO Marcel von Aulock explained.
He added that the group already operated three full service hotels in the city – The Cullinan, Southern Sun Waterfront and Southern Sun Cape Sun. It also operated the recently refurbished limited service SunSquare Cape Town hotel.
“The addition of an exciting new product aimed at the limited service market will allow us to provide the full spectrum of products to suit all budgets for both business and leisure travellers.”
The new hotel would comprise two products in one complex, a 200-bedroom SunSquare hotel and a 300-bedroom new generation StayEasy hotel, offering a choice of affordable and stylish accommodation.
The complex would also house banqueting and conference facilities, Tsogo Sun’s casual dining offering Vigour & Verve, retail space and about 300 underground parking bays. The hotel site currently included a heritage façade, which would be retained.
“This investment represents our continued commitment to the area and brings the total number of Tsogo Sun rooms in the Cape Town city centre to over 2 000,” Von Aulock pointed out.
“Our SunSquare and StayEasy hotel options each have their own character and appeal, but the overriding offering in both is affordable, high-quality accommodation. We’re delighted to have this opportunity to increase our presence in one of the most vibrant cities on the continent.”
Construction was expected to begin in May and would be completed by September 2017, in time for the peak summer tourist season.