Pretoria is often viewed as Joburg’s dreary sibling: important, but not particularly exciting or attractive.
Locals know that is not fair, but that’s not to say an injection of some extra style wouldn’t be welcome.
The east of Pretoria is leading the way in the style stakes.
The area around Menlyn Shopping Centre has become so attractive to investors that billions of rand have been invested in the past few years and billions more are set to flow in, what with the Time Square development and the Menlyn Maine development which has already resulted in vast development.
And, as business comes into the city, so the demand for interesting entertainment and shopping, as well as modern overnight accommodation, grows.
“Pretoria,” says Danny Bryer, director of sales, revenue and marketing at Protea Hotels, “provides nearly 9 percent of the gross geographic product what with its motor vehicle, railroad and machinery manufacturing as well as its iron and steel casting industries.”
Protea Hotels this month opens Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! Menlyn, an investment of nearly R250 million.
Bryer says the City of Tshwane has been very active in its economic development and tourism development goals, creating a healthy environment for investment.
“Occupancies in Pretoria are almost on par with those in Joburg and growing room stock in Pretoria has always been on the agenda for the city. We decided to bring the Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! brand to this city because it’s ready for it.”
Pretoria isn’t traditionally seen as a tourist destination, and yet much of the development around Menlyn is a direct result of tourism.
The Menlyn Maine development - which will bring even more hotels, restaurants and shops to the area in the next few years - is an investment to the tune of R8 billion.
Henk Boogertmon, from Menlyn Maine, said developers saw Menlyn as the Sandton of Pretoria.
It’s not just the east of Pretoria that is growing however, and not all the investment is in tourism and shopping. The Bus Rapid Transport system, the Rooiwal Power station solar farm and several other key developments indicate that the city’s economic activities are burgeoning. The main pay-off is for the people who live and work in the city, but visitors also benefit strongly from the developments.
And when people work hard, they usually also want to play hard, which is why there is a demand for a greater variety of interesting leisure activities.
Bryer said while Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! answered a need for room stock in the capital city, it also met this increased demand for entertainment.
He said the brand was aimed at the “forever young” South Africans with a good grasp on international trends and a hunger for the stylish, trendy lifestyle.
Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! Menlyn is a dramatic hotel in its design and centred on creating events and happenings that engage guests and local residents.
It’s the third hotel of its kind in South Africa, after Cape Town and Melrose Arch, and answers many of the tourism and consumer needs that have arisen in the east of Pretoria as a result of the strong economic development in the area.
“Increasingly, hotels aren’t simply a place for visitors to stay overnight. We’ve seen Hotel Fire & Ice! properties become, in Joburg and Cape Town, a hang-out for locals, because they host unusual, on-going events, tailored specifically to the needs of the market it is serving.
“Menlyn too will have a range of trendy, regular activities for the people of Pretoria.”
However, the hotel, which opens this month, will also fulfil another enormous need in the market: large, versatile and naturally lit conferencing facilities that can be adapted to accommodate anything from a car launch - with space for a car inside the ground-floor conference room - to groups as small as eight people.
“It’s not that Pretoria lacks conferencing facilities. It’s just that there are few places that can accommodate so many people in such a great variety of room sizes, while also providing 250 secure underground parking spots for all conference delegates,” Bryer said.
What has been so attractive about the Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! in Cape Town and Melrose Arch has been the brand’s very on-trend and individualist approach to design and interiors. No two hotels ever look and feel the same inside, yet they are bound by a clear sense of their own personality.
Bryer said: “So many people from outlying areas of the country north and east of Pretoria, as well as tourists from the lower borders of our northern neighbours, flock to Pretoria and Joburg for shopping. Plus there is business and government tourism to take cognisance of. And all of these visitors’ experiences are going to be vastly improved because of the enormous developments in the east of the city.”
Pretoria News