Third Radisson Blu opens

Carlson Rezidor, one of the world’s largest hotel companies, has opened its third Radisson Blu Hotel in Cape Town — its 10th in SA.

The Western Cape is experiencing growing demand for hotel rooms and about 1,000 are scheduled to be added to the Cape Town market in 2017. The new hotel is the first long-stay Radisson Blu in Cape Town.

“We are delighted to … expand … our hotel brand in a dynamic destination like Cape Town, which continues to attract more international travellers,” said Marc Descrozaille, Carlson Rezidor vice-president for Africa and Indian Ocean.

“Our 10th hotel opening in SA is firm proof of our focus on expanding in Africa,” he said.

Carlson Rezidor has 34 hotels in operation and/or under development on the continent.

The Radisson Blu Hotel & Residence in Cape Town “is our first mixed-use property in SA”, Descrozaille said.

The hotel, the highest residential building in Cape Town, is on the corner of Riebeeck and Long streets on the foreshore.

In addition, Africa’s first Radisson Red — a brand aimed at millennials — will open in the silo district of the V&A Waterfront in the third quarter of 2017.

The hotel will be near the eagerly awaited Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, set to open on September 27.

“Art is always at the heart of Red and our dynamic design is both inspiring and functional,” said Dale Simpson, curator of Radisson Red V&A Waterfront. “So it just makes sense that we’d be neighbouring the world’s largest museum dedicated to showcasing contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora.”