Telling investors about the Hotel Marina were, from left, Reece Kisten, Colin Kisten and Sadha Naidoo. Picture: Barbara Cole Telling investors about the Hotel Marina were, from left, Reece Kisten, Colin Kisten and Sadha Naidoo. Picture: Barbara Cole
Durban -Despite the competition, there was still a gap in the market in uMhlanga for a new, four-star boutique hotel, potential investors were told on Tuesday
And while the exclusive 63-bedroom Hotel Marina, to be built in the new town centre precinct, will be graded four-star, it will offer five-star facilities and services, hospitality expert Sadha Naidoo said, on behalf of the hotel’s development company, Africa Rising.
Headed by Colin Kisten, Africa Rising is the developer behind several other mixed-use projects in the same area, as well as a residential development in uMhlanga Rocks Drive.
Kisten is at present also waiting to get plans approved for a 100-room five-star hotel, The Sterling, complete with a 500-seater conference room at the Sibaya precinct.
The company will be spending R1.6 billion on various developments over the next three years.
But last night it was Hotel Marina which took centre-stage, with Naidoo, who has been called in for his advice on hospitality matters, telling potential investors that the project was already at an advanced stage, having gone ahead without any investments being secured.
It is due to open early next year.
Now, investment opportunities are being offered to nine shareholders to get involved in the hotel.
They each have the chance to own seven rooms for investments ranging from R17.7 million to R18.8m.
By the time the launch had ended at the Beverly Hills Hotel, several guests had indicated their keenness to buy into Hotel Marina.
Naidoo is talking to several operating companies about running the hotel.
The company is also planning to create a new division to cater for middle-income housing, director Reece Kisten said.
The property climate was changing and the new Africa Rising hotel would be built with radical economic transformation and innovation in mind.
“We are going to dig deep into our pockets to help bring about change,” he said.
