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THE King is back in Port Elizabeth, thanks to a R180-million investment in the Edward Hotel.
The good news is that the new owners, United Arab Emirates-based Akulla Trading, have changed the name of the famous 105-year old hotel overlooking the Donkin Reserve back to the original – the King Edward Hotel.
With the completion of the first phase of the hotel’s refurbishment, a sneak preview shows obvious changes from the moment visitors enter the hotel.
Walls which lined the old narrow entrance have been knocked down to include two rooms on the left and one on the right to transform the entire entrance area.
A gracious lounge and reading room are on the left, leading through to the refurbished courtyard, while a completely revamped reception area is on the right-hand side.
The addition of light marble tiles and a tasteful colour scheme lend an air of Victorian-style elegance throughout the downstairs public area.
Prime accommodation will be the new luxury suite appropriately named His Excellency’s Suite. You will be able to spend the night in the suite for a mere R10000 a night, bed and breakfast. The suite comprises an entrance hall, a luxurious lounge, a dining-room, two en suite bedrooms and a third toilet. Although exact details have not yet been worked out, you will probably also have your own concierge.
The newly refurbished executive rooms will cost R1200 single and R1400 double.
At the moment the hotel is rated at three stars, but the new owners hope to have it upgraded to a five-star rating by the time the 2010 Fifa World Cup starts.
“The strategic plan is to refurbish all public areas and all the rooms,” said marketing manager Zelda George. “There will be 100 rooms in total. All public areas will be refurbished, including the conference centre, the breakaway rooms in the conference centre and the reception front.
All 100 bedrooms will eventually be refurbished. At this stage only those on the first floor have been completed, but work is already under way on the next wing.
At the moment there are plans to have an Indian restaurant, a fine dining restaurant, a buffet and a coffee shop opened by the end of October.
The King Edward was built on land granted to settler John Carter, an accountant from Kent, in 1832. Two years later the plot was divided and houses built. By 1902 Palace Buildings Ltd had purchased the land. Local architects Jones and McWilliams designed King Edward Mansions in the “Old English” style. The building was expected to cost £3500 and building began in January the following year.
To mark the official opening in 1904, the chairman of Palace Buildings, Hitler Holt, invited 60 gentlemen to dinner in the new restaurant. There were 120 bedrooms and sittingrooms, but only 14 bathrooms with hot and cold water and shower baths. The hotel had a restaurant, a news room and a post office. The oldest lift in Port Elizabeth can be found in the hotel.
Richard Lambson bought the hotel in 1911 and in 1920 it became the King Edward Hotel. The “King” was deposed in 1961 after South Africa became a republic and the establishment became simply the Edward Hotel. In 1978, the Edward became part of the Port Elizabeth Hotels group, later Protea Hotels, until it was sold in 2008 to Akulla Trading, who soon started refurbishing the hotel.
“The years took their toll. Age, neglect and a shifting CBD left this grand lady virtually derelict,” George said.
“(Refurbishing) has been moving quite fast but it is going to move a whole lot faster because our plans are to get the conference venues and the breakaway rooms done, after the fine dining area is complete.
The architects responsible for the renovations are Brinkman, Ndayi, McAll.
“We are keeping the (size of the) conference room, but the structure itself and the arches will stay. We are refurbishing everything else as it is very, very old.”
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