Accommodation in South Africa: Hemingways Hotel, East London

Accommodation in East London - Hemingways Hotel

Jenny Blair Hunter

Ernest Hemingway's memory lingers on. Not only in the collection of novels he wrote, but in the Spanish colonial-style home he owned in Key West, Florida. His home was his last port of call and is now a museum. The legacy of the greatest American writer lives on in South Africa.

The apricot butter yellow clapboarding effect of the new Southern Sun's Hemingways Hotel topped by a turquoise green roof, stands out on the East London horizon enticing visitors to go and visit.

"The hotel has a Hemingway theme. Themed architecture creates an entertainment environment, and gives people a place to go and escape to," says architect Brent Buchanan, of Creative Kingdom.

The design of the hotel was inspired by the architecture of large plantation homes in the southern states of America and homes in the Caribbean. The colours of the roof and the exterior also reflect the styles of the Caribbean. The building's novel design draws visitors to the hotel and adjacent casino.

There is a mixture of images at play from the architectural design of old US colonial homes reflected in the hanging chandeliers and sash windows to the filigree and neo-classical décor of homes in Key West, Florida.

The colonial theme persists throughout the hotel including the meeting rooms and the gym projecting to visitors an upmarket hotel with a tranquil homely feel.

Most of the materials used in the hotel's interiors are natural. The floors in the public areas are covered in a variety of natural marbles: creams with a contrasting black inlay marble. The walls are cream and beige stripped wallpaper with a satin finish.

Two large wrought iron chandeliers hang in the entrance and reception area and four overhead ceiling fans rotate in the dining area.

The corridor from the reception area houses two conference rooms - aimed at the business sector which is the hotel's main target market - on the right and a very small gym for hotel guests on the left.

Hanging on the walls throughout the hotel are beautiful, sensitive, black and white mood shots of Africa, taken by renowned photographer Horst Klemm. The photographs are originals and were all hand printed and then hand framed.

The hotel is designed to cope with East London's unpredictable weather patterns - sunny one moment, raining the next. Large double windows and an expansive circular skylight in the reception area are used to create maximum natural light where possible.

Although Hemingways is linked to a casino it is described as a 'serious' hotel and is comfortable for the business traveler, touring group or sports people.

Ernest Hemingway would be proud to have his name given to such a fine hotel. If he could have visited, he may have been inspired to pen another novel.

Hemingways Hotel
Corner Western Bypass & Two Rivers Drive
Cambridge East London 5247
East London
South Africa
Tel: 043 707 7777

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