No water? No problem!
Festival guests staying in Grahamstown accommodation have been very understanding about the town’s water outages over the past few days.
While the town started filling up on Tuesday, the National Arts Festival (NAF) kicked off yesterday bringing more people to the city.
The first weekend of the Festival usually sees a sharp spike in visitors.
Grahamstown boasts a wide range of accommodation categories from hotels to B&Bs, backpackers to lodges. Hosts began welcoming their guests on Tuesday.
It’s a good idea to book your accommodation early, say hosts. But what if you haven’t?
If you were hoping to stay at Makana Resort, you may be disappointed. “We open for Festival bookings in the first week of January,” said Angie Daweti, head of reservations at Makana Resort.
“It’s best that people book earlier. Most people try to book a week before the Festival starts and it’s usually late.” According to her it is best that people make their accommodation arrangements at the beginning of the year if they are planning to come to the Festival.
But Grahamstown still has space.
Lee-Anne Repinz of Graham Hotel said she was surprised that they were not fully booked because they usually are by this time. “Normally we are fully booked. It’s strange but we’ll fill up.”
If people are looking for a township experience they can always book with Kwam EMakana Homestays.
“We usually accommodate people who are looking for an affordable place,” said Kwam eMakana administrator, Buyiswa Gora.
There are also people who are willing to rent out their homes when all the other registered accommodations are fully booked. Nomfuneko Budaza, one such person, said the agents start with the registered accommodations and then the excess goes to the unregistered ones.
“I don’t have any guests yet, but I know that there are many people coming,” said Budaza.
Accommodation in Grahamstown is available for as little as R125 per night. Visitors are able to pay in cash or make electronic transfers. “Even people who do not have cash can do EFTs,” said Daweti at Makana Resort.
The past week has been a difficult one for the hosts.
Water and electricity outage have put a lot of strain on them. “Unfortunately our guests can't bath when we have an outage,” said Daweti.
However, visitors need not worry as the hosts are on top of their game. “We have a back-up plan. We have spare water for emergencies. It’s natural spring water from outside Grahamstown,” said Repinz.
Daweti added, “We buy drinking water from the shops and we ensure that each room has a 20-litre bottle for bathing.”
When there is an electricity outage, Repinz said they have heat pumps to ensure that the water remains warm. Howev- er the “heat pumps need pressure from the municipality to keep the water warm”.
“We use candles and lights when the electricity goes off,” said Daweti. Budaza added that “water and electricity are not a problem. We know how to deal with it. Our guests should not worry about it”.
Fortunately for them the guests have been understanding. “Some people are understanding because they know that it is not our problem, it’s the municipality’s,” said Repinz.
Hosts promised to give the best service to their guests despite the odds. Gora said Kwam E-Makana guests can expect warm, comfortable township style accommodation and food. “Our guests will be treated to warm kasi food and everyone is welcome.”
“People should come to our hotel because we offer the best service. We are the premier in Grahamstown and you get value for money.” said Rapinz.
“We cater for everyone. We have African and Italian cuisine. We cater for vegans, diabetics and children,” said Daweti.
If people are looking for information and activities to do in Grahamstown they can contact Makana Tourism, an information resource centre.
“If people want to enjoy Grahamstown and feel the vibe, they can come to us and we’ll show them places to go to,” said Litha Citwa, an intern at Makana Tourism.
For more information on accommodation go to Makana Tourism, Grahamstown Hospitality Guild and National