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Four-Star hotel opens in Ballito
The US-based Hampshire Hotel Group will be spending millions of dollars in an innovative and extensive luxury hotel building programme throughout Southern Africa, following the successful launch of its 107-bedroom, 4-Star flagship hotel in Ballito recently.
Developed by United States investors Veno Nathraj, who was born in Parlock and left for the US in 1986, and Ajit Bhakta, who was born in Zambia, this hotel is the first of four to open in South Africa, with the investment partners planning to build further hotels in Umhlanga, Port Elizabeth and Midrand, Johannesburg.
“This is a new concept in South Africa. We have many hotels in the US and we use the same designs in them all. This means that whichever Hampshire Hotel you are staying in, you have the same layout and ambience as the others,” said Bhakta, who is president of Hampshire Hotels South Africa.
Thus, the R95-million Ballito project that has been specially developed for the African market, encompasses the same designs and styling as those in the US, but with an distinctive African ‘feel’ to the hotel.
The launch of the Hampshire in Ballito was planned to be well in time for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup later this year – a decision that has already borne fruit, with the Nigerian national team having booked to use this hotel as its base for the four first-round group matches it will play in the area.
Nathraj, who was involved in the construction industry before moving to Chicago, said the Ballito hotel would suit both business and leisure clients, filling a gap in the hotel industry.
“We believe that there is a shortage of good quality, affordable hotels in South Africa. While we already have bookings for the Soccer World Cup, we believe that the hotel’s appeal will go beyond 2010,” he says.
“With the new airport opening in La Mercy, this hotel will be within easy reach of our corporate target market, which is our primary focus in this development,” he concludes.
The floorcoverings used at the Hampshire Hotel in Ballito – and that will be used as standard for all the other planned hotels throughout the country – were supplied through Nexus, the corporate carpet division of Belgotex Floorcoverings, and fitted by Hampshire’s own in-house installer.
Approximately 3 100m² of Serengeti in Wild Cheetah colour were used for the bedrooms, and 1000m² of Custom-X with a custom-made cosmic stripe pattern provided for all the corridors.
Serengeti is a tufted heavy commercial carpet produced from 100% SDX (Solution Dyed Nylon) with a MiracleBac backing, and manufactured in a convenient 4m width.
Custom-X is one of the success stories of the Nexus sales programme that enables architects, interior designers and developers to individually design the new carpeting for their projects, thus ensuring that in colour, texture and pattern the flooring matches the identity they wish to create.
Nexus (division of Belgotex Floorcoverings)
Tel: 033 897 7500
Fax: 033 897 7700
E-mail:
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Website: www.nexuscarpets.co.za
This article originally appeared in Floors April/May 2010
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