Judging by the number of recent investments made into Rosebank’s hotel market, something has to be said for its growing appeal as a business and tourist stop-over

Less than two years ago saw the opening of the 4 star, 8 floors Holiday Inn joining the Zone in Rosebank. The 5 star Monarch boutique hotel was auctioned off last year. The 5 star Winston hotel was featured on Top Billing and renovations of some of big-name hotels continues.

The five-star Hyatt Regency in Oxford road, adjoin the Firs shopping centre, is to be refurbished to the tune of R100m. The hotel was established in 1995 and has had “soft” refurbishments over the years, but an extensive overhaul is now needed according to Hotel manager Michael McBain talking to MoneyWeb last month.

The hotel has been under pressure from regular local and international guests to update its technology and to bring the establishment more in line with global standards. One of the items on the refurbishment agenda will be the rebuilding of the walkway between the hotel and the Gautrain station about 100 metres away. The hotel’s banqueting business has soared since the Gautrain opened in October 2011.

Other areas for refurbishment include the guest contact areas, basic facilities of the rooms, reception area, kitchens and so on. The overall refurbishment is expected to take 2 to 3 years. The hotel is owned by Investec and is managed by the Hyatt.

This comes on the back of the opening of the new Tsogo Sun’s, 54 on Bath, a five star boutique hotel located on Bath Avenue which opened on 9 July. Sold by Hyprop Investments Limited, the JSE listed property company that own and is expanding the Rosebank Mall next door.

This building used to house the iconic Grace Hotel and office buildings but is now owned by Tsogo Sun Holdings, one of the largest Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed companies in the hotel and tourism sector.

54 on Bath is Tsogo Sun’s first hotel offering in Rosebank. The company owns 14 casino properties located in Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, and over 90 hotels in South Africa, Africa and Seychelles.

54 on Bath’s featured Level Four Restaurant offers distinctive dining, classical cuisine with a contemporary twist. “The complete remodelling of the hotel redefines us as a modern yet classic, urban chic, city hotel.” Jacques Moolman, hotel manager was quoted as saying recently. He says they hand-picked significant pieces of art from the old hotel and then commissioned local photographer Ryan Hitchcock for a series of compositions of the surrounding neighbourhoods in Johannesburg.

The property boasts 60 deluxe rooms, 12 executive rooms and three executive suites elegantly styled with views over the garden or the green city skyline. It also has three meeting rooms catering for up to 120 people each and a boardroom that seats 20 people.

Another breath-taking feature of this boutique hotel is the famous roof garden on the fourth level as it creates a bridge from city scape to suburban tranquillity.

The Grace Hotel which was closed down in August 2011 was sold to Tsogo Sun Hotel Group for R85 million. Between R20 million and R25 million was spent on refurbishing the property.

Announcing its six months to June results in August, Hyprop said the downturn in the hospitality industry impacted negatively on the performance of the fund’s hotels, The Grace Hotel in Rosebank and Southern Sun Hyde Park.

It wasn’t that long ago that the independent The Rosebank’s Hotel was the only hotel in town, beside the old Residential Oxford Hotel. The Rosebank was whisked away from the Protea group into chic international sophistication by the CrownePlaza chain of hotels with a R254m refurbishment. Now it stands proud among Rosebank’s other 5 star hotels. The Rosebank is the only Crowne Plaza in South Africa.

With The Courtyard and The Don representing one end of the market and The Crowne Plaza Rosebank, The Hyatt and the Holiday Inn representing the international brands, that just leaves the boutique hotel business with Tsogo Sun’s54 on Bath, The Winston and The Monarch. Eight hotels, five of which are five stars, serving one square kilometre, Rosebank is certainly on the map for international and national visitors.

Source: eProp editor