I am convinced that the person who designed the Radisson Blu Hotel in Port Elizabeth is someone who has spent many a night in hotels for this is the most functional hotel room I have ever stayed in.

Before I mislead you into thinking that the functionality comes without luxury let me reassure you they have the white percale linen, the ultra comfortable bed, the fresh white towels, the lemon grass scented soaps, luxury hair shampoo and body lotions etc. These are all things one comes to expect in a hotel of this sort. The magic however comes from the uncluttered layout and the enormous attention to detail. Everything seems to be positioned just where you need it. And it is geared for the business traveller.

For instance the room comes with a L-shape workstation giving you over two meters of workspace. Right now I am typing this article as I watch the sun rise over Algoa Bay directly in front of me. I will soon email it with the free internet access afforded by the hotel to my office for inclusion in this month’s magazine.

Above the workstation against the wall is an international plugpoint with four different international sockets ideal to plug in laptops etc. on either side of the bed are two prong plug points to recharge cellphones, ipods etc and next to the full length mirror in the passage is a plug point for a hairdryer. My personal pet hate is crawling around rooms to find a place to charge my phone or a plug point to plug something in.

Simple things like the placement of the refuse bins in the room is perfect as well. How often have you stayed in a hotel and had to walk over the room to deposit a soggy tea bag in the bin. Not at the Raddisson. The genius who designed the room layout was probably responsible for the lighting as well. I have never seen as effective use of lighting in a hotel room.

Each of the rooms has a glass wall from floor to ceiling which looks over Algoa Bay. It really is an impressive view to wake up to. Blackout curtains are essential and provided especially with all that light around and the sense of space it creates.

For TV addicts there is a whole bouquet of satellite channels in quite a few languages with our MNet and SuperSport channels featuring strongly all displayed on a large flat screen TV. Room service operates 24 hrs a day and staff are extremely attentive to all guests needs.

Attention to detail starts at the front door with the motor vehicle valet service. I am not sure where my vehicle was stored but it was great just handing in my voucher and having the car delivered to the front door. On occasion I waited at the lift and a staff member appeared from nowhere to reassure me it was on its way down and it would only take a minute.

Of course you want to know about the innovative space gym and the health spa. I suggest you head over to their website:

www.radissonblu.com/hotel-portelizabeth

Capturing the Essence of Buffalo City

Talk to any number of residents or former residents of our fair city, and they will start to rave about what a fantastic place we live in; how the lifestyle is so great; how it is such a good place to bring up children and so on. A potential tourist may be forgiven when, in answer to the question “why is it so great?”,  he or she becomes totally confused by our inability to verbalise exactly what it is that makes Buffalo City such a cool place to be.

In recent workshops with local stakeholders and marketing professionals, an attempt has been made to define the magic factor. We think it is less to do with what we have and more to do with what we are. We (as Buffalo City) are: relaxed, mellow, friendly, practical and down to earth, flexible – “go with the flow”, fun-filled, Afro-centric; surrounded by natural and beautiful (unspoilt) features, timeless.

The message we want to give to our visitors is this:
“You work hard and you look forward to a little quality time with your family. You don’t want to plan too much – you want to have a wide choice of things to do as the mood takes you.”

And that is why Buffalo City offers the perfect experience for people who want to come on holiday and find a bit of everything; (except frenetic crowds, long queues on the roads and inflated tourist prices).

What we need now is for every citizen of our city to spread the message – come and experience it yourself – every day can be a new adventure.