The directions were unusual for a dinner at the Holiday Inn with the Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI), of which I am a fellow. Take the M1 south, exit Nasrec, follow the signs to the Soweto country club.
It is a different end of town for a four-star hotel, but Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo who owns the Kliptown Holiday Inn is a woman with big dreams. It takes about 25 minutes to get from the centre to the south of the city, past ”Sun City” prison, through Eldorado Park and into Kliptown.
The hotel is a stone’s throw from the exact spot where the Freedom Charter was signed, a place now marked by nine tall obelisks representing the provinces of the new South Africa. The Holiday Inn is a fine place to spend a Friday night, as I did recently.
The reception area is an introduction to the historic significance of the hotel. Three arresting black-and-white mosaics of Walter and Albertina Sisulu with Nelson Mandela greet you with smiles.
The Holiday Inn is at Walter Sisulu Square, a bright new open space with a massive conference centre flanking the hotel, both of which are an effort to draw cultural and business tourism to a dirt-poor area that drips with history, geography and culture.
Does tourism hold the key to a sustainable development? Sangweni-Siddo believes so and her company, Zattic, has made a massive investment in the hotel, hoping that international tourists (for whom a trip to Soweto is a staple) might be drawn to a night of authentic comfort away from the standard nodes of Sandton and Rosebank. She has managed the Hyatt in Rosebank and worked with Southern Sun for many years.
She is a member of the ALI and hosted us for dinner at her Jazz Maniacs restaurant. A local band played good covers plus a selection of their own music, while we enjoyed the hotel’s buffet. The decor is warm and comfortable, drawing from the past with a Drum-like style from the Fifties. Light fittings and the colour themes of russet, browns and reds are meant to locate you in Africa. The mosaics continue to the restaurant, linking the open spaces. The 48-room hotel features rooms that other Holiday Inns might only dream about.
Large and spacious, the mattresses are not of the hard prison-like variety of other hotels. The room I stayed in had a study area as well as a separate walk-in bathroom. Atmospheric features include cushions made from maize-meal bags and a selection of historic photographs linked to Freedom Square. The balconies are big enough for a party and they look on to the square, a proper market by day.
In July Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf will stay at the hotel ahead of delivering the annual Nelson Mandela lecture, which will take place at the conference centre. The tourism potential of Kliptown is nascent while development demands are urgent.
David Blom, known as Bolo, says some local people like himself serve as tour guides, while the hotel has employed as many skilled people as it could find. There are cycle tours on offer and interviews with citizens old enough to remember the days when Kliptown prepared for the event that made it famous: the Congress of the People. Bolo is a mine of information and even an evening sitting with him is an education. There is a museum next door to the hotel, which is said to be a very moving place. Unfortunately it was closed when I visited.
A fighting spirit lives on in the area. While Bolo will tell you what the plans are for change, the Anti-Privatisation Forum will tell you how much still needs to be done. It will be money well spent to stay over at Kliptown. The weekend of the Nelson Mandela lecture is a fine opportunity to do so.
The Holiday Inn is offering a special rate to Mail & Guardian readers of R680 a night per person, including breakfast. The normal rate for single occupancy is R1 490 and double occupancy R1 590, subject to availability. Readers can also win one night’s accommodation in the OR Tambo presidential suite or Chief Albert Luthuli presidential suite, including breakfast.
The prize is valued at R2 510. The prize is valid for six months and is not transferable. Send competition entries to [email protected]. For reservations email [email protected]
The details
David Bolo Blom can be contacted on 082 517 2630 or via the hotel reception to arrange a tour.
The Annual Mandela Lecture will take place at the Walter Sisulu Square in Soweto on July 12 at 2pm. The Nelson Mandela Foundation is offering 20 tickets to the invitation-only lecture to Mail & Guardian readers. Please email [email protected].
Anti-Privatisation Forum 123 Pritchard Street (cnr Mooi) 6th floor Vogas House, Johannesburg Tel: 011 333 8334. Fax: 011 333 8365.