Rethabile Pitso
THE AVANI Group has undertaken a M90 million refurbishment of its AVANI Lesotho Hotel & Casino and AVANI Maseru Hotel.
AVANI General Manager, Riaan Van Rooyen, on Tuesday told the Sunday Express the revamp was meant to enhance the hotel group’s facilities and services to bring them at par with international standards.
The two hotels were rebranded in July last year after global gaming and resorts giant, Sun International, sold them to Thailand-based firm, Minor Hotel Group (MHG).
According to Mr Van Rooyen, the upgrades were necessary since the previous operators had not done much to renovate the hotels.
“Sun International, who were the previous owners, and the government, which is also a shareholder in the business, did not pay sufficient attention to the properties in terms of renovations,” Mr Van Rooyen said.
“So the time has come for us to take the hotels to the next level considering that we are competing in an international market. The renovations are also imperative because we are the only two international hotels in Lesotho.”
AVANI Lesotho Hotel & Casino had already been renewed with a new coffee shop, cocktail bar and fountain, while the revamp of AVANI Maseru Hotel is scheduled to begin in May this year, he added.
“There are two areas of focus—the first is the upgrade of the product and the second is the upgrade of services,” Mr Van Rooyen said.
“We decided to work towards upgrading AVANI Lesotho Hotel & Casino into the four to five-star international ranking. While locally we could be ranked as a four-star, internationally we could be between three or four.”
He added: “When you compete in the international market, you have to ensure whatever service you offer matches that star-grading. We do not have such skills and knowledge in Lesotho so we are grateful for the assistance MHG is giving us.
“The renovations will be made this year only and require around M90 million. Such an investment is indicative of our confidence in the economy of the country at this point in time.”
Mr Van Rooyen further said the renovations would also incorporate elements of Basotho culture.
“One of the biggest landmarks in the country that every Mosotho knows, is Qiloane Mountain from which the Basotho hat takes its shape. We are incorporating the shape of the mountain into the hotel’s entrance,” said Mr Van Rooyen.
“The best view you can have of the city of Maseru is on the fifth floor of AVANI Lesotho Hotel & Casino, and that is where we are building the sky cocktail bar.”
He also noted AVANI Maseru Hotel would be temporarily closed from May to August during the renovations while the hotel’s staff would receive training on customer service.
“AVANI Maseru will be fully upgraded for four months starting from May this year. Everything from the entrance to the rooms will be re-done,” Mr Van Rooyen said.
“We also intend to incorporate aspects of Lesotho’s culture into the design of the hotel and we are now in the process of picking and choosing the designs we will use.”
He added that they were in discussions with the government and Cornell University of the United States towards establishing a hotel school in Lesotho.
“Since it would be difficult to compete with well-known South African and Botswana hotel schools, we are working towards partnering with Cornell University whose qualifications are equivalent to Harvard or Oxford universities,” said Mr Van Rooyen.