MOSSEL BAY NEWS - "We are confident that the money we are investing at De Bakke Santos - which remains a municipality-owned resort - along with our hospitality management expertise, will result in the resort attracting visitors to Mossel Bay.
"This will boost the local economy, to the benefit of the whole town and its residents."
Brian Singer, director of Colosseum Hotel Management Company (Pty) Ltd, the company that was awarded the tender to manage De Bakke Santos for a 30 year period, told the Mossel Bay Advertiser, "Anyone who is of the opinion we have not met our obligations in terms of the tender for De Bakke Santos is welcome to visit us, or to contact us for updated information. It must be noted that our mandate is to upgrade the existing chalets, and upgrades of this nature are not necessarily visible from outside the resort."
This followed questions about the measure of upgrades done to the resort in last week's edition of the newspaper.
Tender obligation
"Upgrading the resort to a three-star standard is a tender obligation, and we are complying with that.
"As required by the tender, the upgrade will be done in phases. We submitted an Implementation Plan to the municipality, documenting all upgrades in the first phase, and this was accepted by the municipality. We have already completed a large portion of phase one."
Singer went on to explain that the upgrade would have commenced after the tender was awarded, but their progress was delayed as a result of a court action instituted by an unsuccessful bidder.
This took almost a year to resolve, and only once the unsuccessful bidder withdrew its court application, was there certainty about going forward.
The legal proceedings examined, in detail, the process followed by the municipality in awarding the tender, including that the bid by Colosseum Hotel Management Company offered the municipality, and the town of Mossel Bay, the most sustainable and beneficial financial arrangement over the 30-year lease period.
Several million
To date, Colosseum Hotel Management Company has already spent close to R3 million on upgrades.
When asked what upgrades specifically had been done, Singer advised that they have focused on both general upgrades all over the resort and also specific upgrades.
"It is impossible for me to list each and every upgrade, but some examples include upgrades to certain municipal infrastructure, such as underground sewer and water lines, street lighting in the resort, signage, drains, fire equipment and the like.
"All chalets have been upgraded with new linen and flat screen TVs, so we can now offer guests DSTV with a bouquet of channels.
"Certain chalets also have new kitchen equipment and appliances, new geysers, furniture and other similar interior upgrades.
"We focused on improving the guest experience when making bookings and arriving at the resort and this upgrade saw new reservations technology implemented and a brand new website developed. This went beyond a three-star level.
"Improvements were made to the reception area to create an even better than three-star impression on arrival.
"Ablutions underwent an overall upgrade including drainage, heat boilers, surfaces, tiling, showerheads and the like. In addition to the overall upgrade, specific upgrades of one ablution block, one chalet and the manager's house were completed.
"These were entire renovations, leaving only the original shell, with every single thing upgraded and improved."
Next phase
The next phase of the upgrades commenced in April. This includes the painting of the interior of chalets, painting of certain exteriors, replacing certain roofs, and putting in brand new furniture and appliances. There will also be an entire revamp of one more ablution block in this phase, as well as two laundries and sculleries.
"This will cost us in excess of R4.4 million," Singer advised.
'We bring you the latest Mossel Bay, Garden Route news'
