Lekopanye Mooketsi
13 January 2009
As the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup in neighbouring South Africa gets nearer, one of the Gaborone's popular hotels, Cresta Lodge, is undergoing a P20 million upgrading and expansion.
Ideally located near the Gaborone Dam on the outskirts of the capital, Cresta Lodge was graded 3-star by the Botswana Tourism Board (Botobo) in 2007.
Its General Manager, Jonathan Cox, says Phase One of the project entails construction of a 400-seater movie theatre-style conference room. Already at roof level, the construction of the conference room is scheduled for completion by August.
Cox says because they realised that there was a shortage of good quality conference centres in the city, Cresta Lodges's will feature state-of-the-art LCD projectors and sound and lighting systems.
Expounding on the upgrading project, Cox says there will be a walkway connecting the foyer to the conference centre and a restaurant and another leading from the conference centre to the restaurant.
Phase Two of the project will include extension of the famous Chatters Restaurant and the refurbishment of its interior as well as that of the foyer. Plans to extend the car park to accommodate growing numbers of Cresta clients and to facilitate the new conference centre are also afoot.
Egged on by forecast business prospects of the World Cup, Cresta Lodge will be sprucing up its 160 rooms as well. Cox says they are not planning to increase the number of rooms.Cresta Lodge is a member of the Cresta Marakanelo group. In addition to accommodation and conferencing, it offers a business centre with Internet facilities, as well as outside catering.
Cresta Lodge was opened in the early 1990s. It has undergone a few minor refurbishments since then, but Cox says the current project is their first major upgrading and expansion since they opened.
Cresta Lodge is the second hotel in the Cresta Marakanelo group in Gaborone to undergo a major facelift. Last year, the renowned Cresta President Hotel on the Old Mall was refurbished for more than P25 million.Another Cresta Marakanelo facility, Rileys Hotel in the resort town of Maun, is also being refurbished. The idea is to have a restaurant overlooking the Thamalakane River, which flows from the world famous Okavango Delta.
Other hotels in the Cresta Marakenelo group are the Mowana Lodge in Kasane, the Botsalo Hotel in Palapye, the Bosele Hotel in Selibe-Phikwe, and the Marang and Thapama hotels in Francistown.
Cresta Marakanelo is a joint venture between the Botswana Development Corporation (BDC) and a Zimbabwean company.
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